Lost in Brooklyn
by rosesweetchild
Summary: Shortly after moving in with his girlfriend Juvia Lockser, Gray Fullbuster finds himself transported to Brooklyn, NY, where he meets counterparts of people he knows from Earthland. Will he ever get back home? Will his and Juvia's counterparts drive him insane before he can? It's Gray Fullbuster in Jewish Brooklyn. Set in 1996-1997. Currently ON HIATUS. Maybe I'll re-do.
1. Chapter 1 Welcome to New York

**Chapter 1: Welcome to New York**

 _Brooklyn, NYC, United States November 25, 1996_

This should have been a joke or something. Except that it wasn't.

One moment he's experiencing the delicious quiet with his girlfriend (freaking _finally_. That was a whole story in itself.) No dark guilds after them. Zeref definitely dead. The 100 year quest over (okay, so he had kind of quit earlier than the rest of his team - enough was enough. Juvia was waiting and he was getting seriously antsy.) It had been nine full of days of absolute quiet. It would get boring soon, but he had really needed this downtime. And Juvia was so nice to be with. It was amazing how much more comfortable she had gotten around him, how slowly she was taking him off the pedestal, teasing him and getting used to being fine about not always having the same opinion. They'd had their moments of discord and awkwardness since moving in together, but it had overall been so wonderful, he was kicking himself for not waking up earlier. Oh well. Everything in the right time.

After taking their time getting dressed, they started strolling over to the guild for breakfast (the fridge had only two pathetic looking yogurts which were halfway on their way to being science projects), when suddenly he heard a bang, saw a strange spiral in the air and he wasn't there anymore. Magnolia gone. Juvia gone. Replaced with a completely foreign environment.

Seriously? How does this just happen? And why did this always happen to HIM? And what happened to Juvia? And was she okay?

What's weird is nobody even looked shocked when he showed up. There was some sort of magic at work, because the street he ended up on was full of people and nobody seemed to see him arrive; it was almost like he was always just there. At the same time he couldn't really detect magical power here. It felt like Edolas in that regard.

He walked up to the corner to see where he was. Not that it would help; this wasn't at all where he had been; it didn't look like anywhere in Magnolia; was he even in Fiore anymore?

He looked up at the sign on the corner. Avenue M and E. 14th. What's E 14th. East? Okay. That told him nothing. There was something smelling way too delicious though. And they probably didn't take Jewel, either. He had this bad feeling people here were all going to be looking at him like he was not quite well in the head. He was about to go inside the bakery with it's strange automatic doors to try his luck, when he heard a familiar voice call his name. Natsu?

"Graeme. Graeme. GRAEME!" An copper haired guy who otherwise looked completely like Natsu, was running up to him, somewhat out of breath.

"Natsu?"

The guy looked horrified.

"Seriously, Graeme? How can you even call me that? Anyway, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be practicing at the rink? Juvia is going to KILL you."

Okay great. He had somehow landed in a parallel universe. Twice in one lifetime? Seriously? He decided to follow along with this Natsu lookalike. It's not like he had any other options currently.

"Uh, the rink?" He was following the Natsu counterpart down a cross street.

"Graeme, are you alright? Whatever. Get in the car. I'll take you there. Seriously, Juvia's going to be teed off and she is SCARY when she's pissed." The Natsu look alike suddenly peered closely at Gray with a confused expression. "What did you do to your hair?"

"Uh, nothing? Juvia?"

"Yeah. Remember her? Your partner for the competition that's only in about 5 weeks from now?! And you don't even have your performance outfit and your skates with you. She is going to KILL you."

"Wait? Her name is Juvia?"

Julia. JOO-LIA. You've only known her 8 years, and she's had a crush on you for most of them? Seriously? What's wrong with you today, Graeme?"

"I think there's some mistake. My name is Gray, not Graeme."

"Okay, I'll call you Gray even though I haven't called you that in years. Seriously, what's gone into you? You're acting like you don't even know who I am!"

"Um, I don't really. I mean, you look like a good friend of mine, but I've never met you."

"Hmm... You don't remember who I am? Oh man, you've probably fallen and hurt yourself. I guess that's how your lost your kippah. Here." The guy reached behind his seat and dumped a small round crocheted disc on Gray's head and smiled mischievously at him. Not good. If he was anything like Natsu, that kind of smile was the beginning of nothing good, and the weird thing was, Gray could swear the guy was looking flirtatious, which was surreal.

They drove for a while in silence. Shortly after they had driven through some sort of tunnel the copper haired man spoke up again.

"So, Gray, darling, you don't remember that we've been dating for almost two years? Our anniversary is in two weeks and you've promised me a night of passion at the Waldorf Astoria."

"Uh… No offence, but you sound like you're making that up." Gray decided it wasn't worth it to ask what the Waldorf Astoria was.

"Okay, fine. We're not boyfriends, but you can't blame a guy for trying. You know how cute you are. Not to make light of your amnesia. Okay We're here. Can't believe I found parking so fast. Hopefully, Julia will not be angry. Hmm. Maybe I should have taken you to the hospital? Whatever. Get out."

Gray followed the copper haired man into a large busy building which was right by a river. Soon they were in room with a very large ice rink. Gray, couldn't stop himself from sighing happily. Ice. Nothing like that cold fresh smell to lift up his spirits. Ice, his element. He should really check soon if his magic worked at all. Just for fun.

There were many people on the rink, but the Natsu counterpart seemed to know where he was going. Near the northeast corner of the rink were two people. One was instantly recognizable. A beautiful pale young woman with blue hair and facial features he'd know anywhere. He wasn't so far off. Julia was Juvia's counterpart. Something was off with her hair, though. He couldn't figure out what. It was a blue, but a little darker than Juvia's and at the top it looked more like brown?

She was in the middle of working out some sort of skate routine with another guy, who had black curly hair with a disc on his head who looked even more eerily familiar. Aside from the hair, it was like looking in the mirror, although this guy radiated a confidence Gray usually only faked. The couple were so far unaware they had company.

"Seriously, Julia, you've got to relax. We're supposed to glide into the next movement. It's supposed to look romantic. That's what people want to see." Oh great. Yep. Even his voice was the same.

The response was harsh. "Like you'd know anything about romance." Ouch. Gray wondered what sort of relationship they had. Were they dating? Exes?

"Oh come on, Julia. Give me a break! Hey, Nati's here, and he brought somebody. Let's say hi." Okay that sounded more like something he'd say, Gray thought. Shit, he'd almost forgot how creepy it was to see someone who looked and sounded almost exactly like he did. Well, at least this guy was an improvement on his Edolas counterpart. That guy had been an embarrassment. Constantly fawning over Edolas Juvia and wearing layers and layers of clothing He had been a walking sleeping bag.

"Fine." The two skaters made there way over.

"Nati, who's this? A new _friend_?" Graeme smirked before peering over at Gray and looking extremely shocked. "Who the hell are you!?"

"Hi. My name's Gray Fullbuster. You're Graeme? This is kind of creepy isn't?" And it was, even if it wasn't so unexpected. This Nati guy had thought he was Graeme. It was only natural that the real Graeme would show up at some point.

"Seriously, Nati? Who the hell is this guy?" Graeme proceeded to ignore him and glared at Nati. Weird. Natsu. Nati.

Julia had a smirk on her face, like her birthday had come early or something. Okay, that was creepy. Meanwhile, Nati was very flustered trying to explain what happened.

"Graeme, I thought he was you! I was finishing my job and I saw what looked like you on Avenue M, and you looked like you were totally out of it. I was trying to do you a favor so I took you to the rink. Only... Well he's not exactly you, is he."

Gray decided to explain, even though he knew it was not going to make sense and they were not going to believe him, but what other choice did he have? And how long was he going to be stuck in this place?

"Hi. I'm not really from here. I don't even know where I am, actually. I'm from a place called Magnolia in a country called Fiore. Have you heard of it? I'm guessing no?"

"Uh… Is it in Italy?" Nati asked.

"No. I've never heard of Italy, sorry. So, this is going to sound hard to believe, but I was walking with my girlfriend to my guild hall, because um, we belong to this guild," Gray was sounding so stupid even to him, get on with it! "And suddenly, I saw a weird spiral in the sky and I was standing wherever, um, Nati? saw me. I guess he thought I was you."

Graeme didn't look very impressed. "So why the hell didn't you tell him you weren't me?"

"Graeme," Julia interrupted. " This guy's got a nice six pack. You need to work out more, I don't think you're nearly as ripped as he is. Interesting tattoo." This was Julia, who was seriously ogling him without any sense of shame at all. Gray felt himself go red. When had he stripped? Shit. And what was wrong with Juvia's counterpart? He had always told Juvia she needed to believe in herself more, but this girl needed to maybe tone it down a notch, maybe two notches.

"Uh, I'm sorry. The thing is, Nati looks almost identical to a friend of mine and Julia looks like my girlfriend. I went along with him I guess, because he was familiar to me, and I don't really know anyone here. I'm kind of in a difficult situation. I'm really sorry I scared you." He found his shirt and began putting it on.

Before Julia could respond Nati excitedly spoke up, "Woah, that's weird. What's my name, and am I just as cute? And JULIA'S your girlfriend!? Wow." Well that was nice. Nati seemed quite happy to believe his story.

"Do you have a screw loose, Nati? How is it possible that you look exactly like me, and by coincidence you've got friends who look exactly like Nati and Julia? And I've never heard of a place called Fiore. This whole story sounds really fishy. You're lying, aren't you." Graeme continued to glare at Gray.

"Look, I'm not lying. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm not from your world. Nothing here looks familiar. This happened to me before. Our entire town and my friends were transported to another world, where I met people who looked like us but were different. I have a bad feeling this just happened to me again." Everyone was looking at Gray with very dubious expressions, and Julia was rolling her eyes. He tried to ignore it and continued on.

"So, Fiore is on the Ishgar peninsula. And I'm guessing by your looks you have no idea what that is either. I'm a member of a wizarading guild called Fairy Tail. Everyone in my guild has a type of magic they've specialized in. I'm an ice make wizard which is a type of creation magic. Basically, any static object I can imagine I can create in ice. Here. I'll show you how I do my magic."

Gray got into his casting stance and said "Ice Make: Hammer!" He wasn't expecting anything to happen, and was surprised when he managed to make a miniature hammer which easily fit in his hand. Maybe there were trace elements of ethernano here. He'd have to test that later. Interesting. Meanwhile, everyone was shocked.

"How did you do that?" Nati practically squealed in excitement.

Graeme was not impressed. "Obviously this is some sort of a trick. There's no such thing as magic."

"Graeme, I don't know, it certainly looked like he created it right now. He wasn't holding anything in his hand before." Juvia argued.

"Okay this is creepy. So let me guess, you have nowhere to go and no money." His counterpart was certainly direct.

"Well I have some jewel, but I don't think that's going to help me," Gray reached into his knapsack and showed Graeme some bills. "See, it says the Kingdom of Fiore on there?" He pointed out.

Nati grabbed a bill. "Woah, it's so colorful. "You guys still have kings? Do you have serfs too? And evil landowners who enslave the poor serfs and make them languish in dungeons because they didn't pay their rent?" He handed it back to Gray.

"Nati, get a clue. This guy has no idea what you're talking about. You sound like a story tape. I'd explain what he's talking about but it's kind of pointless. Nati seriously, use your brain." Graeme was glaring at Nati like he wanted to slap him. Ah, well, some things hadn't changed at least.

"Look, Julia and I need to finish practicing. Why don't you wait, and we'll figure something out for you, um, Gray. We're finishing in half an hour. Nati, can I have a ride back?"

Graeme seemed uncomfortable, like he was forcing himself to be nice, but was obviously freaked out. Gray couldn't blame him. Random stranger looking completely like him talking about another world and magical powers? Really, he sounded like a complete wack job. Graeme didn't have to help, but it sounded like he was going to anyway.

"Yeah, sure, bro." Nati responded.

The skaters went back to the center of the rink after Julia put some sort of music on.

"Let's try _Katonti,_ Graeme."

Julia had put on some music. Gray didn't understand the words at all, but the music was very heartfelt. It felt sad and hopeful at the same time. Nati and Gray watched the skaters and talked. Nati wanted to know all about his magic powers.

"So, seriously? Flames? And I freaking _eat_ the flames?! I guess it makes sense. I'm pretty flaming." Gray had no clue what that meant, but since Nati was giving him his flirtatious winks, he sort of figured it out. That was just weird. Natsu was probably the most clueless about relationships. Even if Natsu had gay tendencies, he probably wouldn't even recognize them.. Also, the gay people he knew in his guild tended to be pretty discreet about it. This whole thing was way out of his comfort zone. Of course what about this was in his comfort zone?

"Yeah. He eats his flames. Then he usually says 'I've got a fire in my belly' and he has a lot more magical energy. Then everyone on the team knows to watch out, because you have a guy with poor impulse control and low brain power with major fire dragon powers." hmm. Maybe he should be nicer. "He's really amazing though. He never gives up. He once said he was going to borrow his energy he'd have tomorrow because he was literally done."

"How does that even work!?"

"I had the same question when I was told that."

Gray decided to skip the parts about Natsu being over 400 years old and having been recreated after he died as a kid by his evil brother Zeref. His world was obviously hard to believe as it was. He didn't have to go overboard.

"And his name is Natsu? Sorry, man. I totally thought you were saying something else when I first met you. My name is Natan, but everyone calls me Nati. I've known Graeme since he came here as a kid from Canada. It's north of here. We went to the same yeshiva. That's a type of school. His dad and mom are really nice. They always let me come over and don't ever ask questions and they are just great people. I bet they could help you."

They continued talking. Natsu talked about Graeme. He was originally from a city called Toronto. His father, Joseph, was a doctor and his mother, Ora, a math professor. She was Graeme's step mother. His mother died when Graeme was a baby, and they had married when he was around 3. That's when they had moved to Brooklyn, where Ora was living. He had one stepsister who was never around and two half siblings, Wendy and Dina. They were a major ice family. Both Graeme's father and his uncle had been their university's ice hockey team. Graeme's uncle had died with his wife in a car accident when Graeme was little and his older first cousin Leon had lived with Graeme's family since then. Leon had been also into ice hockey, and had even played at NYU when he was at college, but Graeme had gotten into ice skating instead. Ora had been a professional when she was younger and had been Graeme's first teacher. Leon and Graeme always had this weird rivalry which Nati never quite understood.

"And now it's worse, because Leon went to study in Jerusalem for a year and he's all froomed out." He saw Gray's confused expression. "Sorry, Let me explain what I mean. Jerusalem is a holy city where a lot of guys go to learn our holy books. We're kind of a minority in this country but there's a lot of us in here in New York. Do you have any people like that where you're from? They're living in your country but they're from another background and culture?"

"I don't really know. I'm not sure. What's froomed out?"

"It means like super religious. Leon's always been pretty cool to me, but he drives Graeme NUTS. They've got some serious baggage." Okay that sounded way too familiar. Obviously, this guy was Lyon, and they had the same messed up relationship they had back in Earthland. Great.

Nati continued. "So Leon got major religion, always studies the holy books and is apparently always on Graeme's case about religion, although I've never really seen it myself. I get along pretty well with him. He's pretty chill with me. Maybe it's more complicated with them because of that weird rivalry they have. Who knows."

They continued watching the skaters who had moved back to the routine Gray had seen them working on when they had first gotten to the rink. There was some major tension going on between those two.

Nati was talking about how they lived in a large city called New York which was in a state also called New York, in a country called the United States, but they were also Jews, which were around for thousands of years, often persecuted, and had special holy religious texts and culture. Jews were from practically every part of the planet and had different customs depending on where they were from.

Soon, the practice was over. Graeme and Julia had gotten changed, and they were headed back to Nati's mobile and they left. Julia had decided to take the subway home.

"So, Gray, I think you should come to my house. My parents are pretty cool about having guests. They're probably going to be freaked out about you looking like me, but they'll be cool."

"And his mom makes the best food. I can come over for dinner, right?" Natsu was practically slobbering. Gray remembered he hadn't eaten anything that day.

"You know you don't have to ask, Nati. They practically _expect_ you there." Graeme redirected his attention to Gray who was seated in the front next to him. "He's pretty much a fixture. Shit. I bet Leon is going to be there. What a drag. Whatever. You'll meet him."


	2. Chapter 2 Reminders of the Past

**Chapter 2 - Reminders of the Past**

Nati and Graeme started talking about friends they knew. Gray couldn't really follow it, although he thought he might have heard a couple of familiar sounding names. He decided to spend the drive looking out the window. They were headed back to Brooklyn, where Graeme and Nati both lived. So far, all he could figure out from listening to Graeme is that he respected his parents, his siblings all drove him crazy and his cousin drove him crazier. Gray wondered if Graeme liked anybody. That guy liked to complain a lot. Gray wondered if he also was like this? No. Okay people in his guild often drove him crazy, but that's only because a lot of them acted like idiots most of the time.

Soon they were at Graeme's house. It was on a quiet residential block with mostly single detached two story houses. The house looked homey. Not too fancy, as opposed to the house next to it which looked a lot more expensive plus oversized. Gray realized he was a bit nervous. If Graeme looked like him, then who were his father and mother? Who were his siblings? And Leon - he sounded way too much like Lyon for his comfort.

Graeme let them in and immediately there was a major ruckus as a girl who looked to be about 10 ran up to them excitedly. She had brown curly hair that was barely contained in her pony. She was followed by a 12 year old girl who was attempting to corral the younger one. She also had brown curly hair, but it was in a much neater pony, and overall had a neater appearance. "Dina, don't bug Graeme right when he gets home. Remember? We have to give him some space."

Graeme seemed unphased by all the commotion. "Wendy, it's okay. Dina, I've brought Nati and-"

"NATI! Play Uno with me!" Dini ran up to Nati and started hugging him. She didn't seem to be aware of social boundaries, but Nati didn't seem to mind. He was obviously used to her.

"Sure, Dina. This time I'm going to win!" Nati exclaimed much to Dina's delight.

"Why is there another one of you, Graeme? And why is his hair blue and all sharp?" Dina liked to get to the point. Wendy looked up and gave a little gasp, noticing him for the first time.

"This is Gray. Nati met him on Avenue M. Dina, want to say hi?"

"Hi Gray!" Dini cried out cheerfully before she went off to find Nati.

Meanwhile, Gray could hear sounds coming from farther in. The entryway led into a living room and to the right was a large kitchen where a woman was busy preparing what looked like a salad. Whatever was cooking smelled amazing. The woman was dressed in a skirt and a three-quarter length sleeved purple polo shirt. She had a kerchief covering her hair and she was facing the other way. "Wendy, Dina, can you please come back and finish setting the table? Your father will be here in half an hour."

"Sure, Mom. Dina, remember? We were setting the table. Let's finish, okay? Then you can play Uno with Nati." Wendy was leading her sister back, nicely but firmly. And it really was Wendy. She was older, and the hair was different, but it definitely was her. How fitting she was Graeme's sister here. Gray always thought of her as a little sister, especially once Wendy joined Team Natsu.

"So, Graeme, please wash up and have your friends wash up also. What's this about copy of you Dina is talking about?" Mrs. Silverstein approached the three young men and Gray suddenly felt sick. No. Freaking. Way. Mrs. Silverstein was Master Ur? She looked different as her hair was covered, except for a bit on the sides. But the voice was her.

"Oh, hey, Ma. This is Gray. Um, Gray…"

"Hi, Mrs. Silverstein. My name is Gray Fullbuster. I kind of got lost, and I ran into Nati here who thought I was Graeme. It was a bit of a mistake, but here I am." Gray was having a hard time talking to his master's counterpart. It was like talking to a ghost; like when Panther Lilly had discovered Lisanna after they returned from Edolas when eveyone thought she had been dead fo two years. A walking and talking ghost right in front of him, but it was even creepier because it was Master Ur.

Graeme meanwhile had found his voice. "It's a little weird, but Gray makes things out of ice, and he's an alien from outer space." Okay, thanks for making me sound even weirder, than I already sounded, he thought. What was up with this guy? Everyone he had met so far was nice. And Graeme was kind of a jerk.

"Okay." Ur raised an eyebrow. "I guess that can be explained later. Anyway, nice to meet you, Gray, and please call me Ora. 's my mother in law. My husband should be arriving soon and then we'll eat dinner. Hope nobody's super starving. Graeme, Yehuda is in the study. Why don't you say hi and introduce him to your new friend? I'm sure he'd like to see Nati too."

"Oh, great. Let's meet _Yeh-hoo-da_." Graeme purposefully emphasized the name in a sarcastic tone. "What a pretentious idiot." He mumbled under his breath.

"I heard that, Graeme. Be nice." Gray couldn't help but smile. Even the tone was just so _Master Ur._

"Okay, okay. Sorry." Gray didn't think Graeme looked all that sorry. He followed Graeme and Nati to the back where a tall, slim young man in a conservative dark suit and a fedora with the brim turned up was sitting at a desk and studying a book with words in a character set Gray had never seen before. The man looked up and, just as he had suspected, the familiar face he really could have done without looked up at them. When he saw Gray, he looked extremely confused.

"Hi, Graeme. Nati. Nice to see you." He looked over at Gray with a puzzled look, but only politely said, "My name is Yehuda, Graeme's cousin. What's your name? I'm assuming everyone has told you you look exactly like Graeme, so apologies, but the resemblance is uncanny."

"His name is Gray Fallbuster, and he's from a different world. Like an alien from another planet." Crap. Graeme seriously needed to cut this out.

"Actually, it's Gray _Full_ buster. My situation is a little complicated. I'mnot from New York. I happened to meet Nati, who introduced me to Graeme, who very kindly invited me here. I'm a little confused, because Nati told me your name was Leon?"

The two men shook hands. "Ah, well, I have an English name, which I grew up using, which is Leon. Lately, I've been using my Jewish name, Yehuda. Sorry for the confusion."

"No problem. Nice to meet you," Gray said, a little annoyed that Yehuda who was this world's version of _Lyon_ for freak's sake, was a lot more interesting and friendly than Graeme. Graeme needed a serious slap to the face. It didn't help that Gray hadn't eaten anything in hours, which didn't help his mood.

Ora called from the kitchen that it was time for dinner. Everyone went to the kitchen to wash, which involved using a special type of cup and incantation. Graeme was told he could skip it so he just washed his hands regularly and went to the table.

"Hi, you must be Gray? I'm Graeme's father, Joseph Silverstein, but everyone calls me Silver."

Gray's eyes widened in shock. This man looked so much like his father, it was too much. He felt nauseous.. He had to calm down and get it together. It was too much. He tried repeating to himself 'this guy is some other person. He's not my father. He's not the same person." This couldn't be happening. Okay, it made sense, but no, it couldn't be happening. NO.

"Is something wrong? You look a little troubled?" Silver was looking at Gray with a worried expression.

"Sorry. Uh, it's nothing. I haven't eaten in awhile, so I'm a little light headed." Right. Like they were going to believe _that._ He obviously looked upset, but what was he going to say? You look like my father who has been dead for almost two decades?

"Oh, I wish you'd said something earlier," Ora spoke up. "I would have been happy to give you a snack."

"It's fine. The food looks really delicious." The spread on the table did look good. A platter full of what looked like chicken, and a bowl of mashed potatoes were in the middle of the table, and individual bowls of steaming hot soup were by everyone's places.

"Yeah, thanks Mrs. S. Everything looks amazing as usual," Nati added, and smiled, with what Gray thought was a Natsu worthy smile. Weird. He was gone for how long and a Natsu smile was already comforting him.

"Thank you, Nati. You know you're always welcome," Ora replied.

Silver started asking his son how his practice had gone and Gray kept on looking from one person to the other. He tried to concentrate on eating, but this was difficult. Ur. Father. Lyon. Wendy. Natsu. Yes. None of them were the same people, but it was especially unnerving to see someone who had the same form as his father and Master Ur. Like living ghosts. He needed time alone, soon. He tried to concentrate on eating. Meanwhile Wendy was speaking.

"Ma, can Shuli come over for Shabbos because Bubby's staying at Aunt Leah's? We have to practice our part for the school tea."

"As long as it's okay with her mother."

"Shuli asked already and she told me her mom says it's okay. Yey! I can't wait. We'll spend all Shabbos practicing our solos!"

"Oh that reminds me," Graeme smirked. "Dad, got any ear plugs I can borrow?"

"You are so MEAN, Graeme!" Wendy glowered at her brother.

Graeme started singing in a artificially high voice, obviously imitating his sister, "Forever One! We will go far! It's not I am but who we are!"

"Graeme Noah Silverstein. Enough. We do not make fun of other people. What are you, ten years old?" Silver said this in a firm but calm voice.

Before Graeme could say anything Dina cried out, "Graeme sounds like Wendy!" She started giggling and also singing the same song.

Everyone laughed and smiled. Dina seemed to be one of those family members who could keep everyone together; and stop arguments all with the power of her cuteness.

Gray got up and went to the adjoining room and sat on the couch. So many familiar strangers. Ghosts. And he was starting to lose it again after seeing Silver in action. What would it have been like if his life had been Graeme's. Would he be just as clueless disrespectful and immature? And Ora. She radiated a calm contentment but with a strength that was so similar to Master Ur. He had to stop thinking of them as his father and Master Ur. It's Joseph and Ora Silverstein. Put that way they didn't sound anything like-

"Hey. You okay?" A soft but concerned voice interrupted his thoughts. It was Yehuda. "Mind if I sit down?"

"Yeah. Sure. I'm okay. I'm just thinking."

"I couldn't help noticing you seemed a little uncomfortable around my uncle. He reminds you of someone you know?"

"Yeah."

"Nati was kind of telling me about your situation earlier. I hope I'm not being intrusive, but are you an orphan?"

"Yeah." It was hard to talk, but at the same time Gray found the soft way Yehuda spoke comforting. The guy didn't know him at all, had no reason to believe his story, and yet seemed genuinely care about him and what he was going through, and he was intuitive and observant.

"Both my mother and father were brutally murdered when I was really young. They were killed by a monster right in front of my eyes. My entire village was destroyed and I was the only survivor."

"That sounds horrifying. And my uncle reminds you of your father?" Yehuda asked.

Gray nodded. "He even sounds like him."

"I can't even imagine. This must be so traumatic. I lost both my parents in a car accident when I was five. It's not the same as what you went through, but if something like this happened to me I would be traumatised. I know we're strangers really, but if you ever need to talk, I'm available." With that, Yehuda left Gray to his thoughts. He looked around. He was surrounded by large built in bookshelves which went from floor to ceiling and seemed to be stuffed with books, mostly in a language he couldn't recognize. He found a book he could read and sat down.

Gray wondered why he was understanding any of the languages here; maybe he was able to understand the dominant language of the country, but not other languages? He wasn't going to complain. It would have been a lot worse if everything was gibberish.

He started reading the book. It was a children's book about a girl named Malky getting ready for something called Shabbos. Wendy had mentioned Shabbos earlier and Nati had mentioned it being a major challenge for Graeme who was wanting to pursue a career as a pro ice skater. It was obviously an important day of the week, which involved cooking, shopping and cleaning. In the book, the Malky character, who is about about 4 years old, asks her mother repeatedly if it's Shabbos yet, but is always told no, until the end of the book, where it's finally Shabbos, the father finally appears on the scene and Malky gets to snuggle with her mother. Snuggling sounded pretty good. The couch was soft and comfortable, and the hot soup and meat made him drowsy. Gray found himself closing his eyes.

 **And that's Chapter 2. So far, Graeme is turning out to be a real jerk isn't he.**

 **The plan so far is to have the story from Gray's point of view.**

 **Wendy is singing a song called "Forever One" which was composed by Yossi Green and sung by Avraham Fried. It's a classic song in the Orthodox Jewish world. I picked it because it was around in 1996 and because Gray will eventually hear the song and connect with the words, although the song is really about the Jewish people. Here's a link to the song if anyone's interested. If links don't work, I'll try and remember to edit this. Chances are there'll be typos and I'll have to update it anyway.**

 **watch?v=kbiSK9dqvOk**

 **Bubby is grandmother in Yiddish.**

 **The book Gray reads is real. It's called "Is it Shabbos Yet?" and it's by Ellen Emerman. I got a kick having Gray read a picture book.**


	3. Chapter 3 Familiar Voices

**Chapter 3 - Familiar Voices**

It had all been a dream. He was at home with Juvia sitting on the loveseat in their small but homey apartment. Everything was normal.

"I think I'm infecting you. That kind of fantasy is something _I_ usually come up with, not you," Juvia giggled.

"Yeah, I guess. It seemed so real. I met so many counterparts there. There was even someone like you." He pulled Juvia to him so that she was on his lap facing him, and wrapped his arms around her, "but she wasn't nearly as beautiful as you." This was more like it. As they entered into a long kiss, he started weaving his fingers into her long blue locks. Everything was going well, until somebody decided to start yelling his name. It was probably Natsu, annoyed that he wasn't answering the door. Well, Natsu could just wait a bit. This was important. The yelling continued.

"GRAY! GRAY!" GR-"

He opened up his eyes and saw Nati's smiling face.

"Hey, Gray. We finished dinner. Are you awake?"

"I am now," Gray muttered before he could stop himself. He was trying to be on his best behavior, but seriously, _are you awake_?

"Oh. Sorry, man." Nati at least had the judgment to look a little sorry.

Graeme was there as well.

"Hey, uh, Gray," Graeme spoke up. "So um, tonight you can stay in my room. My father might have a job for you. It's not too bad hours and it's close to here. Tomorrow I'll go there with you and you can apply."

"Plus it's a restaurant, so hopefully free food. Although I still think KD is a lot better." Nati chimed in.

A restaurant. It could be worse. He had worked at 8-Island as a waiter here and there over the years, so at least it was something he had experience in. "That's very nice of him. What's KD?"

"Kosher Delight. You HAVE to try the chicken nuggets. The hamburgers aren't too bad either, but the nuggets are the best. I mean, I don't really keep kosher so much, so I could always get the treif version, but I have a soft spot for KD."

He didn't understand half of that. Kosher? Treif? Nati seemed to read his mind.

"Let me explain a little. A lot of Jews keep kosher, which are a group of dietary restrictions. In fact, to be safe, you probably shouldn't touch much in the Silverstein's kitchen for now. Basically they keep everything dairy and meat separately, there's some types of food that are never kosher and another word for not kosher is treif. That's the basics."

Gray and Nati discussed it more. It was interesting in a kind of weird way, but nothing that wouldn't be difficult, although he wasn't going to be making anything in that kitchen without somebody's help.

Suddenly Graeme excitedly ran to a small silver colored box and started fiddling with the knobs.

"Oh guys, Sting and Rogue are on. Gray, you have to hear this radio show. They're hysterical! Oh. Hi, Julia," Graeme looked up as the young woman walked into the room, took off her coat, placed it on one on a recliner next to the couch and sat down.

"Thanks for the warm welcome," Julia deadpanned. "I kind of wanted to discuss our routine before our next practice on Wednesday. Ora suggested I drop by, but I could always go." How did she say that in a calm voice while at the same time glowering at Graeme?

"Whatever. It's okay." Graeme said, in a tone of voice that indicated it clearly wasn't. This was seriously awkward. Gray exchanged looks with Nati, who rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "what can you do, that's Graeme and Julia for you."

Luckily the radio show was starting. Gray grabbed a water bottle from the coffee table and got comfortable.

"I'm Sting-"

"And I'm Rogue, and we're..."

"The Twin Dragons!"

Gray started choking and spluttering. Nati starting patting his back.

"Dragons?" Gray managed to say through the coughs.

Julia made a disgusted sound. "They are so ridiculous. Their names are really Steven and Robert. Their fathers share a dental practice and they're from Great Neck. They used to play Dungeons and Dragons together when they were kids, hence, Twin Dragons. So nerdy."

"Great Neck? And you don't have to be a nerd to play dungeons and dragons! I played Dungeons and Dragons growing up!" Nati exclaimed.

"Case in point." Juvia smirked at Nati. "Anyway, Sting's in the Social Work program with me. He's in almost all my classes, and now he thinks we're besties. He's told me all about where he grew up, what he likes to do, where he wants to live, but mostly he goes on and on about Rogue. Rogue has the cutest smile. Rogue looks so gorgeous with his hair covering half his face. Blah blah blah Rogue this. Blah blah blah Rogue that. Drives me nuts." Julia grabbed a water bottle and got comfortable on the recliner.

"Whatever. Just listen!" Graeme yelled impatiently from the other recliner across the room. There was a weird song sung by a woman with a really high pitched voice, who sang about grabbing somebody's soul away. Gray didn't listen to much music aside from trying to ignore Gajeel's disasters and enjoying Mira's folksy repertoire, and wondered what was so amusing about creepy love songs.

"So, Sting. Tonight we have a challenge," Rogue said in that same annoying monotone voice that Rogue in Earthland had. "We both have to come up with songs that the other likes."

"Yes. And I'll start. The first song is by Erasure."

"Excuse me. No Erasure. You know I hate them. _Seriously_? Your first song is Erasure? This was such a stupid idea."

"Joke! Joke!" Sting laughed nervously. "No. The first song is by Lush. _Monochrome_. Not sure why it's called that, but I actually like it and you do too, Rogue."

"Yeah, well, I was the one who introduced you to it."

"Yeah, I could introduce you to um, something, you know, that you'd really like." Julia wasn't joking. This Sting was definitely flirting with Rogue. Gray found himself almost sorry for the guy.

Rogue didn't respond. Meanwhile Graeme was laughing hysterically.

"I can't believe Rogue has no clue Sting is majorly crushing on him!"

"Yes, it's really _amazing_ how somebody can be so _clueless_ that someone they've known _forever_ likes them." Julia directed that at Graeme, but Graeme was adjusting something on the box and didn't get the hint. How ironic, Gray thought.

Sting continued. "Okay, so that was _Monotone_ by Lush."

"It's _Monochrome_ , Sting. _Monochrome_."

"Oh. So _not_ like your voice?" Gray laughed. Yes. What was up that guy's voice?

"So... Sting. My first selection is _Haunted When the Minutes Drag."_

"No! That's not fair. I _hate_ that song and it's over 8 minutes long. We should play my version at least. It's 100 times _better_."

" _Whatever_. It's a joke, just like your version, which isn't even a version it's just a tiny bit of it."

Sting decided to start singing his version anyway. "Haunted by your snot, by your eye crust, by your drool, by your ear wax… Haunted. "

"Okay, just for that torture, I might have to put the original in later. This is a _serious_ song about being haunted by someone; like their hair or eyes not their bodily secretions."

"You've got to admit it's an improvement. He's way too depressing and boring in that song. This livens it up and some secretions are more interesting than others."

"Whatever. The first song I have is _Bluebeard_ by Cocteau Twins."

"Oh, no. Not Cockatoo Twins. I never know what she's singing. Like there's one song she's singing about cherry cola or something. I mean, who sings about soft drinks? Come on, you can't lose with Erasure Abba covers. Guys LOVE that stuff."

"She's singing Jericho, not cherry cola, Sting."

Meanwhile the song was playing. Gray liked it. It made him think for some reason of that moment when he won against Rufus at the Grand Magic Games and on impulse, had put on Rufus's hat. Ah, that was a battle to remember. In fact, he was at the guild he'd be having a nice after dinner bashing with Natsu right now.

For some reason Sting and Rogue's microphones weren't turned off, and they starting talking, obliviously.

"Sting, stop flirting with me on the radio. It's embarrassing."

"Oh come on. You like it. And I meant it. Just give me a chance. I'll rock your world, babe."

"I highly doubt it. You're totally _not_ my type, and just don't. ever. call. me. babe."

"So I'm not your type because I don't wear all black and listen to depressing music?"

"You criticize my music taste, as _usual_. Why we even have this program in the first place-"

"Rogue, stop! Our microphones are on!"

"Oh sh-" Suddenly the voices stopped and the music continued. Graeme was practically on the floor laughing.

Julia was unamused. "So basically, Graeme here think it's _perfectly_ okay to laugh at other people's misfortunes."

"No, I don't. They're just funny. Sting's always flirting with Rogue. I guess Rogue isn't as oblivious as I thought though. And they're always forgetting to turn off their microphones and speaking stuff without realizing everyone's hearing it."

"And then being embarrassed, which you find _funny_." Julia pointed out.

"Take a chill pill, Julia. It's not like I'm laughing in front of them."

Nati tried to defuse the tension. "So, Gray, Sting and Rogue seemed to be familiar to you. is there a version of them where you come from?"

"Yeah. They're dragon slayers, and they even call themselves the Twin Dragons, at least they have in the past. Sting on Earthland used to be a real jerk, but he's become a lot better. He's the master of their guild, even. I don't know them so well, but they're dragon slayers like your counterpart, Nati."

Julia leaned in towards the couch, so she was closer to Gray who was at seated at the corner. "So what's my counterpart like?"

"Your counterpart is a water wizard. Her name is Juvia Lockser, and she can magically turn herself into water. She even has an attack where she uses water to slice like a knife. It's all about pressure. I'm glad she's on my side, because she is seriously kick butt." Gray looked up to find Julia was staring at him intently, and she was starting to lean in way too closely for his comfort.

"She turns into _water_? And she's your girlfriend? So, you must need a waterbed, am I right?"

Seriously? What was wrong with this girl? She was so inappropriate and all sarcasm and sharp edges. She criticized Graeme for listening to people's embarrassment on the radio, but had no problem embarrassing somebody right in front of her? He decided to ignore her comment, and sat back, trying to give Julia a hint to back up.

"That's so funny. Julia _Luxembourg_. Juvia _Lockser_." Nati spoke up. Gray was finding himself liking Nati a lot, now that he had quit the awkward flirting. He was easy going just like Natsu and was great at changing the subject when things got painfully awkward.

Julia ignored Nati and continued to lean in way too close towards Gray. Clearly, people in Brooklyn could be just as clueless as they were in Magnolia.

"So, _Gray_ , we really look alike, your girlfriend and I? Please show me _exactly_ what you mean." Shit, what was up with this woman? She needed to move her and her cleavage away from his face. He could feel himself get red. Why did he blush so freaking easily?

Before he could come up with a response, Graeme had stalked over angrily.

"Julia. You came over to talk about the skating routine. Let's get on with it. Excuse us."

He almost forcibly removed her and went to the back of the house not before glaring at Gray. Like Gray had asked for this. What an embarrassing reminder of the good old days with Lyon. Except there he had been the one lashing out hadn't he. Saying things like ''She's not in your guild!,' because he had been too stubborn to admit that just the thought of Lyon getting his grubby little fingers on Juvia drove him insane with jealousy.

So Graeme was playing it like that, was he, where he might not want to date Julia, but if he thought anyone else was after her watch out. Not that Gray was even remotely interested. He had a girlfriend, and even if he hadn't, Julia was seriously creepy, getting into his space like that. Maybe she was trying to make Graeme jealous? Whatever. The important thing was, Gray had made a promise to Juvia right when they had moved in together and he was going to stick to it.

 _Juvia and Gray were seated across from each other at their little table in their tiny dining room, moving boxes piled in various places around the walls._

" _I'm so happy," Juvia said looking eager and hopeful._

" _Me too." Gray looked into her eyes and held her hands in his. "Juvia I need to say something important."_

" _Yes?"_

" _I'm totally committed to being with you, and you should never worry I'm going to be interested in anybody else, so no more love rivals okay? I might have friends with girls we know, but that's all they are. I chose you, got it?"_

"Sorry about that." It was Nati. Gray looked over at him. "Graeme's usually not like this. I think he's stressed out about this competition."

"It's really not my business but, are they always like this together? And is Julia always so weird with guys? I don't know if you noticed-"

"You'd have to be unconscious to not notice." Nati interrupted.

"Right?" Graeme moved sideways so that he could face Natsu who was seated next to him. "It was kind of grade a creepy."

"They've had this weird tension for a long time. Tonight I think Julia was trying to make Graeme jealous. She's liked him for years, and he's always sort of ignored that. I don't know her extremely well, but that was weird for her. She usually does not get into people's personal space like that I don't know what's up with her. So it's jealousy, or maybe it's…" Nati looked uncomfortable.

"Or maybe it's?"

Nati looked like he was regretting saying anything. "I'm probably wrong."

"Oh come on. Spit it out." Gray knew he was being a bit pushy, but Nati came across like he knew what he was talking about, and could give him on target answers.

"Okay so don't get annoyed, but she could be thinking that since you look exactly like him, maybe you'd be a great alternative. I mean you heard her earlier talking about your six pack?"

Gray could feel a headache coming on. "I hope it's just because she's jealous. That would be the last thing I need. And Graeme is letting me stay in his house, in his freaking room. He's probably going to be lending me his clothing, because I don't even have a change of underwear. That would just be great if he thinks I'm returning the favor by going after his girl."

"Who isn't even his girl?" Nati laughed.

"Yeah, okay so who isn't even his girl." Gray joined him with laughter of his own. Not even 24 hours here, he's somehow involved in some sort of ridiculous love triangle, only it was more like a love angle.

"This is so ironic, Nati, because I used to be the exact same way, it was so idiotic." Gray felt so comfortable with this guy. He seemed to be just as fun and good natured as Natsu, but in a more with it version.

"Ooh tell me all about it." Nati obviously was into a good juicy story.

"Maybe another time. You know, we should hang out sometime. Get some beers, you know as in friends." You do that kind of stuff here in Brooklyn?"

"Heck yeah."

"Okay let's do it. Once I start a job and earn some money. Assuming I'm still here that is. I mean, I suddenly appeared here. I could always suddenly disappear. Although I have a bad feeling that's not how it's going to happen, because that would just be too easy, and my life is never ever easy."

Nati smiled at him in a friendly way. "You never know, maybe it will start to get easy now?"

"Gray smiled back and laughed. "Not a chance."

Just then Gray overheard Sting introduce the next song, which was apparently called _Bizarre Love Triangle._ That was just way too much. Somehow that unleashed another round of laughter. Who knew laughing could feel this good?

"Okay, well I'm outta here. tell Graeme good night. Good luck with that interview." Nati got up and waved to Ora who was walking towards them down the hallway. "Thanks, Mrs. S. Amazing food as always. Have a great night!"

Ora walked over to Gray and handed him a towel and a bundle of clothing.

"I thought you might want to take a shower. I have some pajamas here, which hopefully should fit you and an outfit to try on for tomorrow. I bought it for Graeme, but it wasn't his style and somehow we never returned it to the store. Anyway, if it fits, keep it."

"Thank you, but are you sure? I don't want to impose." And I can't stand always taking from people, which I seem to have been doing since coming here, Gray added to himself.

"It's just sitting around gathering dust. You'll be doing me a favor, because than I won't feel like I'm wasting."

How did she just twist that around like that? He couldn't really argue though with her logic.

Ora showed him Graeme's room, and told him which was the guest bed and where the the bathroom was and how to turn on the shower.

Gray noticed Graeme hadn't made a reappearance when he went back to the bedroom to go to sleep. Maybe he and Julia were finally getting together. That would make things a lot smoother. He imagined them conversing.

" _Julia, I never said anything about my love for you, because I'm such an idiot. A jerk. A bastard. A complete and utter waste of space."_

" _And I only pretended to obnoxiously fawn over that obviously brainy but sexy, strong and good looking guy in a very creepy way, because you wouldn't notice me. I love you more, you sweet idiot!"_

" _Yes. Let's kiss!"_

As Gray got comfortable in what he hoped was his vey temporary home, he couldn't help but smile. He was starting to see why Juvia used to head over to her fantasy land so much. His imagined Graeme and Julia were a huge improvement over the real thing.

 **Oh dear. Julia is kind of creepy. This story might be turning into a Gruvia story but kind of atypical, since they're in different universes right now, and an anti Grulia story at the same time. I can't even see Graeme and Julia together.**

 **I'm going with a Gray x Nati BroTP. Nati is in some ways more like Loki than Natsu, aside from him not being into women.**

 **As for Sting and Rogue. I thought this up a long time ago. It's influenced from my memories of college radio, and I hope the Sting and Rogue interaction was as amusing as it was for me to write it.**

 **Music referenced in this chapter:**

 _ **Wuthering Heights**_ **by Kate Bush, which I love, but I can definitely see Gray finding creepy, especially the referenced lyric which is near the end of the song. (Cue Gray in the anime yelling, "It's so CREEPY!")**

 _ **Haunted When the Music Drags**_ **by Love and Rockets** __ **is indeed a little over 8 minutes long. The portion Sting makes fun of can be heard at about 1:40.**

 _ **Bizarre Love Triangle**_ **is by New Order**

 **I'd link it all but i can't. They're all on You Tube if you find the interest.**


	4. Chapter 4 The Interview

**Chapter 4: The Interview**

The next day, after a breakfast of hot cereal and eggs, Graeme showed Gray the way to the restaurant. Dr. Silverstein had arranged for the manager to speak to him at 9am. It was a dairy vegetarian restaurant on a large street called Avenue J, which was only a 15 minute walk from The Silversteins, so that was convenient. The restaurant was moderately siedl and had a tall counter on the left as you entered, which led to small tables and booths along the left wall. The kitchen was at the back.

A tall white haired lady came up to greet them. Gray let out a small smile. Could it be? _Mira_?

"Hi. I'm Miri Strauss. You're Gray Fullbuster? Mr. Silverstein said I should be expecting you. You really do look a lot like his son; twins in fact. I'm the manager. Why don't we sit here and talk." She sat down at a booth near the front and Gray sat opposite him.

"So. Mr. Silverstein told me you just moved here, and don't have any references. We really do need the help, so we're willing to overlook that, especially since Mr. Silverstein is vouching for you, but we do need someone with at least some restaurant experience. Do you have any experience working in a restaurant?

"Uh. Yeah. It wasn't my main job at all, but I do have experience working at a restaurant. I worked as a waiter and I also bussed tables."

"Okay then. Our restaurant has times where we're really busy, like Saturday nights for instance. Are you comfortable working in a fast paced, demanding environment?"

Gray figured a fast pace restaurant environment couldn't be worse than any of the battles he'd fought over the years.

"Yeah, I'm comfortable with a fast paced environment. It might take a little bit for me to get used to how your restaurant works, but I'm a fast learner and I'm good on my feet."

"That's very reasonable. How would you handle a demanding customer?"

"I would stay calm and try to do my best, and if I still couldn't make the customer happy, I'd find someone else who could help me with the customer."

"That would be your shift leader. Then the shift leader would come to me if we still had a problem, and you better believe this happens sometimes." She smiled and said this all in that same sweet voice, he knew so well. Gray wondered if she had a some sort of magic-less equivalent to Mira's Satan Soul if customers really became ugly. There was something about that last smile that looked dangerous.

Mira asked a few more questions, mostly about specifics in his experience.

"Well, Gray. I have a feeling you'll be great here. We'll start you off on a trial basis of two weeks, and if all goes well, we'll make you permanent. How does that sound?"

"Great." Greater still if he was back in Magnolia by then, but okay.

"As the new person, you'll start out with a schedule I give you, but as you gain seniority, you will get some flexibility. Also, sometimes our employees need to trade shifts every once in awhile, and we're perfectly fine with that.

"I'm going to start you with a 5 day schedule. Monday through Thursdays 5:30-11:30, and Saturday nights 7-midnight. We'll need to make adjustment to the Saturday night schedule in a few months, but for now that's the schedule. Sounds good?"

"Yeah sure. That's definitely fine with me. Is there a uniform?"

"Uniform is white shirt, black or navy pants and black shoes. No sandals." Gray looked down at his sandals. Oh great. Something else he'd have to get help with from the Silversteins.

"Salary starts at $2.25 an hour plus tips. Does that seem good to you?"

Gray had no clue if that was good or not, having nothing to compare it to. "It sounds fine. I just want to clarify. If I'm waiting tables and a customer gives me a tip, I get to the keep that on top of my regular salary?"

"Yes. That's exactly how it works. It's Tuesday now. Would you be able to start on Thursday? If you can't get new shoes by then it's fine temporarily if you wear dark socks with your sandals."

"I think so."

"Great. Just bring your driver's license or New York State I.D. Oh, and fill this W-4 form out and bring it with you." Mira handed him a paper which Gray hoped he'd figure out by two days from now. "I'd better get back. It's getting pretty busy. Here." She put a huge muffin in a small paper bag and handed it to Gray. "It's our best muffin. Double chocolate chip. Enjoy, and see you Thursday at 6!"

Gray walked out and sat down at a nearby bench to wait for Graeme to come back. He looked at the paper. Form W-4 (1996). Okay. Lots of words that made no sense. He looked down. Enter 1 for yourself. Okay that's easy. Enter 1 if you're single and have only one job. Okay fine. He read the rest of the the form over. Most of it was fine. The Silversteins probably would let him use their address, but he definitely had no social security number, which must be related to their kingdom. Oh well. Maybe Graeme had an idea. Or his father. It had been his idea that he get a job there, so maybe he knew how he was supposed to get a social security number.

Gray opened up the bag and peered in at the muffin. It was like the muffin had take over magic or something. It was at least double the size of the muffins for sale in Magnolia bakeries. Okay he was losing it, because he was now imagining a huge muffin with white hair saying "I'm a _real_ muffin!"

He wondered what people were doing at Fairy Tail. Were they trying to figure out how he disappeared? Was Juvia holding up? What was Team Natsu doing? Still on the 100 year quest or looking for Aquarius's key? He wondered when Graeme would show up. He should have tried to get a spare key or something. He was fairly sure he could get back by himself. He had memorized the address. Nobody would be there though. Wendy and Dini were at school. Yehuda was out either shopping for his impending wedding or learning something in one of the local prayer houses. Dr. Silverstein had driven to his office in some other neighborhood called Borough Park and Ora had headed to where she taught at a university close by called Brooklyn College.

Finally Graeme showed up.

"Hey, Gray. How did it go? Did you get the job?" He sounded a little out of breath. "There's a high school nearby with a track. I decided to get some jogging in."

"Yeah. i got the job, but I think there might be a problem because I don't have an identification card or a social security number." Gray handed Graeme the W-4 form.

"Yeah. That could be a problem. I guess you could use my name and number. I mean you look exactly like me and I'm not working." Graeme gave Gray the form back.

Gray looked it over and frowned. "They already know me as Gray Fullbuster, and they know your family, so it's going to be odd if I filled that out as you now." Gray pointed out. He didn't point out that it also sounded kind of fishy.

"Yeah, you're right. Hmm. Let's go back to the house. I'll call my father. I think there's a legal way to handle it. When he's in between patients he can call us back."

The walk back was a bit awkward. What would they even talk about out? How weird was it that the guy who looked the most like him, seemed like the person he'd like to spend the least time with, aside from Julia. Gray thought that even an afternoon spent at Blue Pegasus might actually be preferable than spending more time with Julia.

Graeme spoke up after a few minutes of silence. "So, Gray, it's kind of funny that you create things out of ice, because I like to sculpt objects out of ice."

"Yeah? You sculpt in ice? What have you made?"

"Mostly small objects, but every year I make a large candelabra for a winter holiday called Chanukah. It's candelabra, with 9 branches in total. I don't remember how i got into this, but I've been making a large one for the last three years. I'm in the middle of making it now. I can show it if you like. It's a big job. Everything else I make tend to be on a much smaller scale. Like, I've made skates out of ice just for fun."

"That's really neat. I'd really like to see the menorah." Gray was starting to wonder if this was the same Graeme as last night. He wasn't going to complain though. "I love anything to do with ice."

"Cool. Look, I'm sorry about yesterday. I'm really stressed out about this competition coming up, meeting you was kind of freaky, no offense, and Julia always rubs me the wrong way."

"I hear you. Things happen. I didn't take it personally." Okay, so that was a lie. He had taken it personally, but since Graeme was trying to start over, he was more than willing to give him a chance.

They had reached Graeme's house. It was almost a different place with all the lights off and everyone gone.

"You drink coffee?" Graeme asked, as he was taking off his sweater.

"Yeah, please. I didn't have time earlier, and I don't want to mess up your kitchen. Nati told me a little about kesher yesterday." Gray hoped he was pronouncing that one right.

" _Kesher_? Graeme gave him a confused look and then smiled. " _Oh_ , you mean kosher. Yeah it can be confusing and complicated, so for now, I'll just show you how to make coffee, because coffee is life."

Graeme showed him how the kitchen was divided in half into a meat side and a dairy side. Everything for coffee was on the dairy side. Then he showed him their coffee maker and the hot cups. Unfortunately, Graeme went way too fast with teaching him the steps with the coffee maker. He probably needed to walk through it another time to get it, but it didn't seem too complicated.

While Graeme left to call his father and the coffee brewed, Gray started looking at the family pictures. So many happy looking people. Would he have a family some day? The closest he has gotten was the guild. This was different. Not better necessarily, only different.

Framed portraits of various Silversteins were all over the house and Gray started studying some of them. There was a wedding photo of Dr. and Mrs. Silverstein. Pictures of Graeme as a kid. Another major difference between them. This guy smiled a lot in his posed pictures. Gray noticed a lot of ice hockey related pictures, pictures of what must be Graeme's father and his uncle with a huge trophy, and also of Yehuda. He also saw a number of pictures of a young woman whose resemblance to Ultear was unmistakable. She must be Graeme's step-sister, Gray figured. There were multiple pictures of Wendy and Dina. There also was a picture of Graeme with a white shawl around his neck surrounded by family members. He looked about 12 or 13.

Graeme came back with two mugs of steaming coffee. "Hey, I left a message with my father's secretary. She's usually good at giving him messages. Hopefully he'll call back soon when he's in between patients. You like the pictures?" Graeme handed Gray a mug.

"Yeah. You have a nice family. I really am grateful for the hospitality by the way."

"It's not a problem. My parents love having guests. That's just how they are. Also, we have a commandment in our religion to welcome guests in our homes."

"Yeah, Ora gave me some clothing to try on and made it sound like I was doing _her_ a favor."

Graeme laughed. "Yeah. Sounds like Ma." The outfit looks good on you btw. I'll go through my closet for other clothing that I don't need. The fit on that is good, not too small or too big?"

"Yeah, it fits perfectly, thanks." It was amazing how similar they were in build..

Soon, Gray had a large pile of clothing to try on, which he brought to Graeme's room to try on. He was happy to see a number of white shirts and dark pants, and some clothing he could use for exercising. Assuming this job worked out, at least he'd have most of his wardrobe sorted. Not like he really wanted to work in a restaurant, but he needed to be as independent as possible if he was going to live here.

Hopefully, back home they were busy trying to get him back. There had defnitely been a figure there, and a flash, what was the flash right before the portal opened? Obviously somebody had been there and pushed him in. Had anyone found out who it was? Was Lyon helping? Or was he using the opportunity to comfort Juvia. Okay, so that was ridiculous. Lyon had been extremely busy trying to get close to Meredy from Crime Sorcière, and had kept complaining about Jellal Fernandes being an overprotective jerk last time they'd seen each other.

He thought about last night. Yehuda, the version of Lyon here, was sensitive, understanding and seemed very caring. It was such a difference to the Lyon of Earthland. He'd seen this before with the different counterparts on Edolas, but it didn't make it less jarring.

Maybe he should try and get along with Lyon better when he got back? Master Ur would want that, wouldn't she?

Then he thought of all the things that drove him nuts about Lyon. His pretentiousness, the patronizing tone he always used when speaking to him, and how he always had to be in control. How Lyon still had to remind Gray that he was 8 years older, and oh so much more wise and experienced too. And did he have to speak in such a weird formal manner? Where did he even pick that up?

Ok, so maybe they were better off with Gray in Magnolia and Lyon in Margaret Town and leaving it like that. In fact, Lyon was probably happier with him completely out of the picture right now.


	5. Chapter 5 Would You Like Fries With That

**Chapter 5: Would You Like Fries With That?**

 **So I got myself in a conundrum here, which is how Gray is supposed to work in the U.S. legally. What a mundane dilemma, but a dilemma no less, because I'd like to think Dr. Silverstein isn't going to suggest Gray cheat the law. Most of the fiction related to NY I'm trying to keep realistic, but this I won't even pretend is plausible. Especially getting a NYS ID in one day. It's not happening. Well it's more likely than certain fictional elements I've seen like male pregnancy**

 **The plot is taking it's time to show up, but I really do have something in the works. I wanted to take his first week almost day by day, and I'll speed up a bit more. I tend to be more interested in character development than plots anyway.**

 **And I keep on forgetting to add the disclaimer that should be patently obvious. The characters are either from Hiro Mashima directly or blatant adaptations of them. So far most if not all the OCs aren't really OCs at all but Brooklyn versions of Hiro Mashima's characters. Even Dina. I was trying to figure out which Fairy Tail character she'd be a counterpart to and then I realized uh her name is Dina and she's Wendy's younger sister. So she's Earth's version of Grandina or Grandini, which I like.**

It was amazing what could be accomplished in one day when you knew the right people. Apparently, during his career as a community pediatrician, Dr. Silverstein had managed to treat a handful of children whose parents had become influential in the government and were more than happy to do him a favor, because two days later, Gray had a NYS ID and an ITIN number, which he could use instead of a social security number, and at 5pm, was dressed and ready to go to the restaurant.

Earlier that morning Ora happened to find unopened packages of underwear, new black socks as well as a pair of conservative black shoes all in his size. At this point, Gray was suspecting that she was "finding" everything at a store. She must have suspected he really felt bad always taking, so she was trying to do it in a way that would make him most comfortable. It wasn't working, but he appreciated the gesture.

He hadn't been sure how he'd spend the day but it went fast. Graeme had shown him where the track was, and he spent a productive two hours there running and exercising. He had explored the neighborhood. He had even managed to keep his clothing on, for the most part.

It was weird to feel nervous, after all the crap he'd done in his life, but that's exactly how he felt walking towards the restaurant before his first shift.

Now he was here. It was before the dinner rush, and the place was fairly empty. Before he could locate Miri, a short woman with strawberry blonde hair came over to him.

"Hey, are you the new guy? Gray Foalbuster? I'm Aliza.I'm Miri's sister and shift leader. She left early, but she's usually here around now. Cana's late again. Darn. I wanted you to tag along with her while she worked." She led him to the kitchen and pointed to where he could put his coat, and wash up.

 _Foal_ buster? Why did people have such a hard time with his name?

Aliza definitely was Lisanna's counterpart except. Hopefully she'd have a similar disposition to her. It was jarring at first, but comforting to see so many familiar faces. It made things easier somehow. Well, except for the Silversteins. He wondered if he'd ever get used to seeing his father and Master Ur's counterparts.

"Hey. Nice to meet you. My last name is Fullbuster, actually."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so bad with names. I'm always getting them wrong at first."

"People are doing it all the time, don't worry."

Aliza showed him the basics of taking orders and had him study a menu. There were a lot more items on the menu than Yajima had on his, but Aliza assured him he'd get used to it as he worked. Then she figuratively shoved him in the deep end. It helped that 6pm was pretty much dead, except a few customers. Maybe this wouldn't be too difficult after all.

By 5:45pm Cana had shown up as well as another waitress named Justine who looked suspiciously familiar along with a sullen looking cook named Axel who didn't look familiar and barely said anything aside from mumbling out an introduction.

He was sort of getting the hang of everything, but by 7:30 and after, he seemed to always have at least 4 customers he was serving at the same time, and he barely had time to think.

At one point, a customer politely called him over. It was so hard to hear him, because he was talking in almost a whisper. Maybe he was feeling bad about complaining?

"I'm sorry, but the shake is really cold. It's hard to drink." Well, he felt like saying. It's a shake.

"I'm sorry you're having difficulty with your order. The thing is it's made out of ice cream and ice cream is cold." Gray hoped he wasn't conveying any of the sarcasm he was feeling right now.

"I thought it got melted when you make a shake?"

"Actually, no. It gets put in a mixer which blends everything together, but it stays cold."

"What should I do?" Get a brain transplant, that's what you should do. Seriously. Toby from Lamia Scale was smarter than this guy.

"You know what. I'm new here. I'll just go and ask my colleague. Be right back, okay?" What the hell?

Gray ran back to the kitchen and started laughing hysterically.

"Everything okay, there?" Cana looked at him with a raised eyebrow. She was in the back having a tiny break, which seemed to happen pretty frequently. They'd already gotten to know each other a little. She was 23 and from somewhere called Long Beach. She wasn't Jewish, but knew a lot about the culture from working for the Strausses, who she more or less working for. Gray figured if this Cana was anything like the one from home, it was definitely going to be lively.

"You won't believe this. A customer complained that his shake was too cold."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. I said I would consult with my colleague," he smirked.

"Wow. Tell him your colleague says he should wait a bit before drinking it. Did he order fries?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Cana got up and grabbed a tray of food."So here's a tip you can give him. Tell him to dip his fries in his shake. It tastes delicious." Gray looked at her dubiously. "I'm being serious. Scout's honor. It tastes amazing. It's that mixture of salt and sweet. They go perfect together." Gray had no clue what a scout's honor was, but he figured why not. Grabbing some food for another table, he went back out and gave the customer the tip, and kept on moving.

By 8 the place was pretty packed; it looked like it was going to be a pretty good first day until he overheard one of the customers complaining to Aliza why in a family restaurant one of the workers was walking around half naked. He looked down and sure enough, his pants were on and his apron was on but somehow he had managed to take off his shirt from under his apron. How had he even done that? Then another customer complained because he had ordered a soda called diet coke and he had gotten something else. Oops. He'd made the mistake of trying to explain what happened, that he didn't realize they were different, and the customer had screeched at him, "They're not the same, and I'd like to speak to a manager right now!" Yes ma'am…

By 11pm at closing time he was very happy to say goodbye to all the customers. Cana and he were busy putting the chairs onto the tables. Justine was cleaning the food prep areas with Axel and Aliza was taking care of the cash register and getting ready to lock up.

"So Gray, what's up with the stripping?" Cana was smirking at him from underneath an upside down chair. She had already asked him after Aliza saw him unbuttoning his shirt and caught him just in time, but he had been too busy to answer. And he had been busy. It was like an endless cycle of transporting dishes back and forth.

"Oh man. You're not going to leave me alone about that one are you? It's kind of complicated."

"It's okay. I think I got the picture. You used to work for a strip club, but got sick of ladies sticking more then bills in your g-string, so you decided a kosher restaurant was a better option." Was that Aliza giggling from across the room? And why did he blush so easily? WHY?P He decided he'd better just be snarky back. It worked well enough back home.

"You wish." Hah! Take that!

"Oh baby, you're right. Want to do a performance for me, just the two of us?" Cana winked at him.

Before he could respond, Aliza called out "Cana Alberona, behave or I'm talking to Miri!"

"Oh crap. Don't talk to Miri! I'll be good. I promise! Anyway. Seriously, though, Gray. What's up with the stripping? And how did you get the shirt off from under your apron anyway?"

"I'm a man of many talents." They were almost done. Time to go back to the Silversteins. He was glad they had given him a key. He wondered who'd even be up when he got back.

"Oh come on. Just tell me."

"OK, fine. It's really not that exciting. I used to live in a very cold climate. I worked a lot with ice and my teacher made me train in my underwear to get desensitized to the weather. Unfortunately, I ended up with a stripping habit. It's been over 15 years and I still have this stupid habit."

"That sounds potentially embarrassing."

They had left the restaurant. Aliza was locking up.

"I've had my moments. Btw, that customer loved that tip you gave me about the ice cream and fries. He gave me a ten dollar bill."

Cana freaked out. "I can't believe that! That's insane. And by the way, I'm the one who gave you the tip, so by rights it belongs to me."

Gray reached into his pocket and handed her the bill.

"I'm joking. Your customer. Your tip. Keep it. It's still crazy he gave you a ten though. You can pay me back by buying me a beer." Why wasn't he surprised?

Gray looked around. "I don't think there's any bars around here." A beer sounded nice though.

"There's something called a car. I know a perfect place, it's only a ten minute drive." He must have looked dubious, because she started reassuring him. "Don't worry. We'll be back within an hour and it's '80s night. I love '80s night." Whatever that meant.

Gray knew he should say no thanks. He should really just go to bed. Instead he found himself saying "Okay, fine."

It was more like a 15 minute drive. The place was smokey and the music was loud, but the service was quick, and everyone seemed to know Cana and kept waving as they walked by their booth.

They had been there about 20 minutes when a busty blonde came running over and leaning over Cana, practically fell on her, while attempting what must have been a hug. Okay. Interesting. And the girl looked suspiciously familiar. Lucy. It had to be. Her face was flushed. Yes. She was definitely inebriated.

"Cana. When did you get here?", she yelled. Then she got closer to Cana's ear. She was trying to whisper, but her voice somehow got louder. "And where did you find that guy? Shit, he's HOT!"

Cana smiled mischievously. "He's my love slave." He almost choked on his beer. No. Just. No.

"Hi. Cana and I work together. My name's Gray. I just met her today."

"Hi. I'm Lucy, and don't worry. I don't believe half of what she tells me. Although, I was kind of hoping she had a new boyfriend. Her last one was a major loser. I'm going to get my girl and be back." At least that's what it sounded like. The last song was almost painfully loud. Something about a love shack? What was a love shack anyway?

Cana was enjoying singing or rather yelling along with it though. Amazingly, nobody was complaining. Probably because everyone there was at least semi sloshed, which is when he suddenly realized a slight problem. Cana didn't look like she was going to be stopping drinking anytime soon. How had she planned to get anywhere later? He certainly wasn't getting in that car of hers.

Lucy had meanwhile come back with more beers for everyone and with her was… no freaking way. No. Freaking. WAY. She was tall, and shapely, her red hair was neatly separated into two long ponytails. She just needed armor and swords and she'd be good to go. She had sat down next to Cana and was busy glaring at Lucy with a fierce look in her eye. Erza? Lucy's dating Erza?! And by the looks of it, very displeased with her girlfriend's current state of drunkenness.

Now the song was about a guy who couldn't stand up or cool down or get his head off the ground. Maybe he should stop drinking and stick his head in the fridge?

Oh shit. Erza was looking at him like she was contemplating smashing his head against the wall, and she didn't even know him yet.

"Erza! This guy's nice! Don't glare at him!" Oh wow, thanks, Lucy, but maybe yell quieter next time.

"Hi. Sorry. The last guy Cana dated, was a jerk. I thought you were him at first. I never met him, sorry. I was getting ready to skewer him. Actually. Maybe I should skewer him. My name's Erza by the way. I don't really skewer people, don't worry although sometimes it's very tempting. You just moved to New York? Don't mind my girlfriend. She can't hold her liquor. I'll be taking these two home soon, so if you need a ride later, it's not a problem."

Gray gratefully accepted.

It turned out Erza had been a championship fencer and had been on the team at a college called NYU. He was surprised that they had so much in common and had so much to talk about with sword comparisons. He wondered what she'd think if she knew his swords were made out of ice.

The next song would have been perfect for Juvia. All about rain, and talking like lovers and diving into their ocean. All that sounded real nice. He kind of missed Juvia's ocean. Okay, he was way too fuzzy. How many beers was this? 8? Who had even paid for them? After the first round, he had somehow just had a beer. The second round was Lucy but that didn't solve the last six ones. Ok, he had to stop drinking.

Now Cana and Lucy were serenading that they couldn't live either with each other or without each other, and moaning. The singer sounded okay, but they sounded like dying dogs. They were even worse than Gajeel. He was way too tired. Couldn't he just dive back into Juvia's ocean? And weren't they supposed to be there for less than an hour? He was never going to a bar with Cana again.

Erza slugged down her water and reached into her jeans pockets, taking out what looked like keys. "Okay, ladies, and gentleman, I think we've had enough. The express train is leaving. Everyone out."

"But it's _Lucky Star_. We have to sing this!' Lucy looked positively upset. Apparently this song was a favorite, and both she and Cana sounded like they were butchering it, not like he was so excited about the original. Gray imagined Lucy surrounded by her celestial spirits singing and dancing. Loki would actually do pretty well here.

Erza grabbed one shoulder and then another and dragged the women out. It was rather refreshing not to be one of the shoulders being dragged anywhere.

And then some girl came over to him, giggled at him and handed him a familiar white piece of clothing. "Um, dude, I think you dropped this!" Oh man. Not again! Pulling on his shirt and light coat, he dragged himself out of the club. This was the last time he was drinking with Cana again.

 **Hope you've enjoyed this and like the new counterparts introduced.**

 **Music referenced in this chapter because I'll readily admit that a minor reason this is set in the '90s is so I can have a music nostalgia fest:**

 **B-52s - Love Shack**

 **Jesus and Mary Chain - Head On**

 **Eurythmics - Here Comes the Rain Again**

 **U2 - With or Without You**

 **Madonna - Lucky Star because it's a song about somebody's heavenly body and celestial spirits just work in with that. Seriously, can't you hear Loki singing this song?**


	6. Chapter 6 The Fitful Alternations

**Chapter 6: The Fitful Alternations of the Rain**

 **This is probably going to be the last update I make for a while, because, surprise, surprise, I am myself Jewish and Passover is at the end of the week. I can't wait to introduce Gray to the delights of Passover preparations.**

 _He was in his swim shorts walking on the beach in the rain, trying to find Juvia's ocean. How difficult could that be? But for miles ahead it was just beach, and not the nice soft sandy type but a beach filled with sharp rocks and shells and branches scattered everywhere like detritus from storm. Meanwhile, the rain had turned into a downpour, and he knew, somehow, it was all his fault._

He lifted his head. Ugh. He had been drooling, and his mouth tasted like sawdust. Not like he actually ever tasted sawdust, but if he had, it definitely would taste like this.

Meanwhile, Graeme was sitting on his bed gleefully, clearly amused. "Shit, Gray, where were you last night? Your clothes reek of cigarettes and beer!" It almost sounded like he wished his own clothing smelled like cigarettes and beer.

"I went to a bar with a coworker. Bad idea." He was still in his clothing, which was odd enough. He'd definitely been more hungover in the past, but it still wasn't a pleasant feeling. "What time is it?"

"9:30. Wow. You work quickly."

"What do you mean?" Gray was still trying to wake up. Food. Exercise. Shower. He should also offer to help out with this Shabbos business. But first, breakfast and exercise. The food here was too good and he'd be looking like Droy if he wasn't careful. He found a tee shirt and sweats and started to undress.

"Well, aren't your co-workers all women? You already scored a date?"

Okay, was he purposely trying to say random things to annoy him? "No they're not actually all women. Anyway, It's not like that. I've got a girlfriend, remember? I get that in your circles men and women don't really hang out, but where I come it's different, and that's all it was. We were hanging out. Except she's just as irresponsible as she is where I'm from. I mean she had absolutely no plan on how we were supposed to get either of us home safely."

"Oh? Another counterpart? It's like you're being followed or something. How convenient."

"What do you mean, convenient?"

"Well, it all can fit into your story. I mean, we have no clue if you're telling the truth, do we?"

"Why would I bother to make up stories about people you don't even know?" It was like one step forward 5 steps back with this guy. It wasn't the best proof, but hadn't his ice magic proven anything, even if it was a nothing at all at his usual strength? What about the jewels he'd shown him? Maybe he had something else in his knapsack he could show him? Did he still have that map of Crocus from the last Grand Magic Games?

Forget this. Everyone else was fine with him. The Silversteins had gone way overboard on helping him. Their other kids were friendly. Graeme's own friend Nati had been friendly. It was just Graeme being a jerk and now five days later Gray was done.

"Seriously, Graeme, what's your problem? It's not like I asked for all this to happen, but it' seems like me just existing pisses you off."

"Whatever."

"Whatever? Look. If you're jealous because I went to a bar and was surrounded by drunken idiots, feel free to go to one yourself."

"I'm hardly jealous. I go to clubs all the time. Seriously. Think I don't have a social life?"

"Uh, I don't know. I was under the impression that people in your circles don't do that kind of stuff."

"Okay, so you're sort of right, but what my father doesn't know won't kill him."

Maybe it was the blatant disrespect. Maybe it was jealousy that Graeme even had a father, or maybe it was that smirk that needed to be wiped off Graeme's face? The next thing he knew he was yelling, and his fist was about to connect with Graeme's nose.

"What the hell is your problem?! Do you even know how lucky you are to have a father?! You're an ungrateful asshole!"

He imagined the impact of his fist and the blood spurting out and him alienating a family who had accepted him into their home. He had to calm down. He had to get out. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Then he was running and he had made it to the track. His tee shirt was off. He didn't care. Okay he did. It wasn't his. It was really the Silverstein's. What was wrong with this guy? Maybe it was time to find a different place to live. He found the shirt, put it on and decided to go back to where the portal brought him. Maybe there'd be a clue? Probably not, but he needed to get this anger out, and he wasn't looking forward to seeing Graeme just yet.

Avenue M and E. 14th. The bakery on the corner. People were constantly going in and out of the store. The smell of fresh bread reminded him that he had skipped breakfast. The whole street was busy. Oh yeah. Shabbos. Whatever it was was happening tonight, and half the neighborhood seemed to be on the street shopping.

He couldn't find a hint of a portal. Not that he was really expecting to find anything. He bought some breakfast at a bagel store next to the bakery, and went around the corner to eat. He leant against a wall, drank some coffee, and took a deep breath. It had only been five days and so much had happened. He needed to be grateful. He had a place to stay and a job. He had food to eat. Yes, he wasn't home, and his magic was practically nonexistent, but it could be worse.

Still, as much as he tried to deny it, he was home sick. People were different, the city was larger than he'd ever experienced. He felt unanchored.

It was ridiculous. He wasn't a kid, but still going the oh poor me routine. He couldn't help thinking of home, though. That ridiculously tiny apartment with the leaky pipes, the guild, fighting with Natsu, Juvia. She has been so patient waiting for him to wake up, and now this? It wasn't fair.

And, why did his counterpart have to be such an unlikeable bastard? The first thing he had to do was to go back and apologize. And find his shirt again. Man, this sucked. He had gotten so good at not stripping too, and now since being stuck he was regressing. He looked around him, but he must have stripped before he got there. Oh well. Multiple people were staring at him, too. Yes, I am that weird guy who walks around your neighborhood half naked with that odd tattoo on my chest when all of you are wearing winter coats. You can now look away awkwardly and return to your scheduled whatever you were doing, thank you very much.

"Gray?" He looked around. Oh. Just great. It was that super creepy Juvia lookalike. What was her name? Julia. She peered at him from the next awning over. His track record with her was pretty dismal and she was walking over to him. _Kill me now._

He almost jumped when she got closer. "Uh. I don't think this is such a great idea."

"Hi. I just wanted to apologize." She was blushing and looking down awkwardly at her fingers which were holding a black umbrella. When had it started raining? How strangely fitting. She continued.

"I was hoping to see you at the Silversteins on Shabbos, but I'm glad I got the chance to talk to you now. I was really inappropriate on Monday. I'm usually not like that. I don't know what happened to me. I'm really sorry." She looked so uncomfortable that Gray couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"It's okay."

"It's not okay. It's not how I behave normally." Oh no. She was crying. He was always terrible at handling women crying.

"It's just-" She dropped her umbrella and covered her face with her hands, while continuing to cry silently.

Gray picked up the umbrella and handed it to her. "Do you want to talk about it?" He motioned towards the bagel store. "It might make you feel better." This better not bite me back.

"I actually would like to talk. I really like the rain though. It makes everything fresh. It's only drizzling. Do you mind walking with me a bit?"

"Sure. I don't mind the rain." Weird. Julia actually liked the rain? It was odd how she seemed so much like Juvia and so much not like her. He couldn't get a handle on this girl at all. He let her lead the way. She wanted to walk towards her apartment, which she shared with a few friends. Gray hoped he was doing the right thing.

She started talking about her life. She hadn't been born in New York or even in the same country. She had spent the first seven years of her life in a country called Russia in an large city called Leningrad. She never knew her real parents. She had been raised by her aunt and uncle.

"Then we moved to New York, and it was so hard. I didn't know the language. I don't know why, but my aunt and uncle decided to move to a neighborhood that didn't have many Russians, and most of the kids in my school made fun of my accent. They were so cruel. I decided I would learn how to speak without an accent, so nobody would ever make fun of me, but then they found something else to make fun of, like my clothing or even the lunches I brought. Kids can be awful, especially if you don't fit in.

"Then, when I was nine, my aunt and uncle took me to Rockefeller center, and for the first time I skated at an ice rink, and it was also took me around the same time to see professional ice skaters performing. After that, my whole world changed. I joined a skating club. I practiced and practiced. I was going to be the best ice skater in the world. I didn't need friends.

"By the time I had been in the skating club a few years, I met Graeme. He was 13 and I was 12. He was so friendly and nice. He seemed to genuinely like me. I'd never had anyone actually like me before ever. It was like living in a cave for years, and suddenly you come out and can see the sun for the first time, after a life of darkness. I knew he was special. We had so much in common, and he was so funny.

"We performed so well together too. He was more religious than I was back then. Now I'd say I'm about as observant as he is. I remember thinking how odd it was that his family had to get special permission from their rabbi that so we could practice and perform routines together, but now I understand it. Whatever. Everything just clicked when we skated, and it was always so much fun to be with him.

"The problem was by the time I was seventeen things had changed. I no longer just liked him. I loved him. I've loved him for almost five years now, but he's never really cared. It's like we're living in two different worlds, and I can't reach him." She started crying again. "I'm so sorry. I'm such a mess. You didn't need to hear all of this."

Okay that was intense. And he was horrible at this sort of thing. Oh crap. And did she really say Graeme brought the sun for her? He had to be stupid not to see parallels with his own life, and he had been a dense jerk as well, hadn't he. Whatever. This was Graeme and Julia not Gray and Juvia here. And he hadn't made her wait five years either. Five years?! What an asshole!

Julia must have thought he was annoyed, because she kept talking. "I'm really sorry I bothered you with all that. You must think i'm ridiculous."

"Nah. You didn't bother me." You just freaked me out. "I don't think you're ridiculous. I'm wondering if Graeme knows how you're feeling though. Some guys are kind of clueless." Although he probably wasn't. He was just an insensitive jerk, who couldn't be bothered to care. The one guy Graeme seemed to love the most was that guy he saw all the time in the mirror. Graeme should just marry himself and be done with it. ' _Introducing not for the first time, Mr. Graeme Silverstein.'_

"You think he doesn't realize?"

"Well I don't really know, because I don't know either of you so well. Have you told him clearly how you feel?"

"Maybe not so clearly. I've given him hints so many times though, and for so long.

"Maybe that's the problem? Guys need directness." Why am I even saying that? Graeme knows how she feels. He's a jerk, but he's got a brain.

"I don't know. My Rabbi, Rabbi Gavreel says I should concentrate on trying to be happy from within. He's a spiritual leader, who runs a lot of programs at the college I used to go to. Anyway, he says I'm spending too much time thinking about Graeme, and that Graeme can't make me happy, that I have to find the happiness within me. So that's what I've been trying to do. I'm trying to be assertive and concentrating on other things, but it's not working. Everytime I see him I lose it. After this competition I'm saying goodbye. I need to concentrate on my studies, and I think it's getting painfully clear that he doesn't want anything to do with me.

"Maybe though, you could ask Graeme what he thinks about me?" Julia looked up with such a hopeful expression in her eyes. He wondered how she was going to do with her plan of saying goodbye, when right afterward she wanted him to talk to Graeme about her.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea. We're not really getting along. I kind of almost punched his nose in two hours ago, which is already pretty creepy as it is. I mean it's like punching myself." Only I'm not an arrogant bastard.

"Oh wow. Thanks anyway for listening. I guess I'll see you Shabbos? You've never had Shabbos before I'm sure and it's wonderful at the Silversteins. I love going to them for the meals. Do you mind in fact bringing them this wine? I like to bring them something for the meal when I go."

He took the bottle from her. "No problem. I better get back and see if I can help with anything. See you later."

Julia waved as she went into her building. So, she wasn't the creepy weirdo he had pegged her at, which was good at least. It had been disturbing that the two people he had the most problems with of all the counterparts he met so far were the ones of himself and Juvia. Now it was just Graeme. Graeme. He was about the same age, maybe a year younger, and yet so much more immature. Gray couldn't help but wonder if he would have turned out similarly if their lives had been swapped. So much of what made him him had been shaped by his experiences of being an orphan, of losing Master Ur and of being a member of Fairy Tail as an ice make wizard. What if he had been just a regular guy here in Brooklyn, with more or less a average family, with siblings? Would he be just as obnoxious?

Enough. Too much thinking wasn't going to help him. He started sprinting back towards the Silversteins. Time to start giving back.

 **The title is a poem by Shelley. I think Juvia would be definitely into the romantic poets.**

 **Julia's character is becoming a little more fleshed out, although it was fun writing her with her being more obnoxious**

 **Graeme just won't stop sounding like a privileged ungrateful jerk though. I mean it's like this character has a mind of his own, because he just refuses to act nice for longer than five minutes.**

 **Thanks for the comment and the suggestion for Gray's issues with needing a social security number. I'll stick with what I have though.**


	7. Chapter 7 Ice Make: Shabbos?

**Chapter 7: Ice Make: Shabbos?**

The rain had picked up, and Gray was soaked by the time he made it back to the Silversteins. He tried to get in without being noticed or getting their floor wet, and managed to fail at both.

Yehuda spotted him at the door and motioned him to wait. Soon he was back with a full length bath towel.

"Oh, man. I didn't mean for you to go to the trouble-"

"It's not a trouble. Just could you take off your shoes before coming in? How are things going? I hear you got a job at _Kosher Health Garden_? Devorah and I will have to come in when you're there." Who was Devorah? Oh right. He was engaged. She must be his bride.

"Yeah. I only started there yesterday. So far it's going well. I was hoping maybe I could help Ora with preparations."

"Great. I'm sure she'd love the must be freezing though. I've got an idea. Why don't you take a shower now, and put on your Shabbos clothing -just put on a white button down shirt and pants, that will be good- and then I'm sure there'll be plenty of things you can help my aunt with. Btw," he leaned in and lowered his voice, "I heard about what happened today with Graeme. I've got an idea that might help. I'll talk to you about it later."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." And he did, but why why why was this guy so _nice_ while wearing Lyon's face?

The shower had felt amazing, and whatever Ora was cooking smelled delicious. Somebody was vacuuming the floors, maybe some sort of hired help? Voices were coming from the kitchen. Time to take part of the action.

The kitchen wasn't very roomy, but it was full of activity. Ora was taking out multiple pans from the oven. Wendy was mixing some sort of dark batter, and Dina was seated at the kitchen table with a serious expression on her face peeling potatoes. It took a few moments for them to notice him. The first one was Dina.

"Hi Gray! I'm making potato kugel! It's going to be so good. My kugel's the best, right Wendy?"

Wendy seemed too absorbed in what she was doing to answer back. Ur turned around.

"Your kugel's going to be great, Dina. Oh, Hi, Gray. You need anything?" Ora peeked into a pot that was plugged into a base, and stirred it, added some sort of spice, and put the lid back on.

Only three people, and so much going on. "I'm good. Can I help you with anything?" _Please? So I'm not always taking everything?_

It was promising. She was taking him seriously, and mulling it over. "I think we're pretty good. I do have some things at the cleaners, but it's raining so I'll skip that. I do need a lettuce salad made. Everything's on the table ready to be cut. Wendy, are you still mixing that cake batter? It's going to be fine. Don't worry. Shuli's going to love it."

"I just want it to be perfect." She looked up at her mother and smiled sheepishly. "I know, I know. There's no such thing as perfect. Just try my best."

Ora looked back and smiled at her daughter. "Exactly. You give it your all and after that it's out of your hands."

"Ma, I can take the car and go to the cleaners for you if you like." Graeme. How had he just appeared like that? He quickly passed by Gray, picked up an apple, cleaned it and took a bite as he leaned comfortably against a free counter.

"Parking is going to be insane though. Hmm... Hey, Why don't you take Gray? This way he can go in, and you don't have to park." _Oh perfect. Oh well. I wanted to help and I also wanted to apologize didn't I._

Graeme was busy eating the apple, and barely looked at Gray. 'Sure, Ma. Let's go." He ran out to the entryway closet and threw Gray a raincoat. "Here. Wear this." Was Graeme purposely avoiding looking at him or was he just in a hurry. Ora handed him a credit card -and to think he had no clue what one of those things were until yesterday- and they went out.

After around five minutes of extremely awkward silence, Gray figured he was just delaying the inevitable.

"Look Graeme. Um, I'm sorry for getting angry and -"

"Almost punching me in the face after you called me an ungrateful asshole?"

"I just think fathers should be respected."

"And you think I don't respect mine. You don't even know me or my father, but somehow you're an authority on how I treat him simply because we look alike."

"I'm not. You're right. I'm a complete stranger it's just-"

"It's just what? Never mind, we're here and there's no parking, so I might have to go around the block or move up a bit." He handed Gray the credit card. "Just say you're picking up for Joseph Silverstein and give them the card."

"Yeah. INo problem." He got out and stood in line.

The rain had slowed down and the line was long. It seemed to take forever for him to get through, but finally he came out with the dry cleaning. Graeme checked through it all before deciding it was correct. He seemed even more annoyed at Gray, and it was soon clear why as they started their short drive back.

"Could you please keep your clothing on?" Gray looked down and looked up surprised. "No, I know you're dressed now, but while you were in there, five people walked over to my car one after another, and they were asking me why lately they've seen me running around half naked, and why I did I have a tattoo, and what's up with my cross necklace. I mean I explained that it wasn't me, but Jews don't ever wear crosses and in my circles we don't get tattoos I mean it's a commandment. It's embarrassing."

"I'm sorry. I really don't want to strip. It's an old habit. I can't promise I'll stop soon, although I'll try. I don't get what cross necklaces are, but this is a sword. I didn't realize it was so offensive."

"You'll _try_? How do you not even notice you're taking off your shirt anyway? And the necklace isn't offensive in general, but someone like me would never wear it, because it looks like a religious symbol, and it's not my symbol, do you know what I mean? I might not be the best Jew, but when it comes down to it that's who I am and I don't want anyone to think anything else about me."

"Okay. I hear you. Maybe it's like how I feel about my guild.I'm proud to be a Fairy Tail wizard and if someone thought I was in some other guild I wouldn't be happy." Especially if it was Blue Pegasus or even worse... Lamia Scale. Gray cringed thinking of being in the same guild as Lyon. Even worse, with Lyon as guild master. Suddenly a vision came in his head. He was forced to move to Lamia Scale, and Lyon was somehow much taller and smirking at him. _'It's Master Lyon, Gray. Master Lyon. Show some respect.'_ Oh man, he really was starting to turn into Juvia with these wacky fantasies. Or nightmares more like.

"Okay so you sort of get it. It's very awkward. And about my father; I don't know what happened to your father or why you're so concerned with how I'm respecting mine, but that's my problem, not yours."

"You're right." _It's just your father looks like my father, and he died when I was little, and it upsets me that you do have a father, and you treat him like crap._ There was no way Gray was going to explain that to Graeme though. What would be the point? Meanwhile, Graeme had been maneuvering into a parking spot on the street. How did he manage to park with maybe centimeters of wiggle room?

"Okay, so while you were in the store, I got a call from my father to pick up a book from the Judaica store for Ora as a surprise for Shabbos. I think they should be open still." Was it his imagination or had been Graeme trying to prove what a great son he was? It was hard to tell though. Maybe Graeme did this every week? Still, Gray kept on getting this feeling that Graeme was really saying 'See? I'm a good son. I help out my step mom and happily go on errands for my father. Are you paying attention?'

The bookstore wasn't nearly as packed a the cleaners. Clothes were more critical than books this close to Shabbos. Graeme went off to find the book, and Gray decide to browse. There was so many different types of head coverings for men and boys. Crocheted, velvet, some with cutesy decorations obviously geared for little kids. He briefly wondered why it was a guy thing, when a boy stopped him. He looked like maybe he was 11 or 12 and looked like he found something new and exciting.

"Hello. Are you new here?"

"Uh… yeah. I'm just here with …" a friend? No. An enemy? No. "somebody. They're buying a book and I'm just looking around. I don't need any help, thanks."

"Oh. I don't work here. I just saw you looking at the kippahs and I noticed you aren't wearing one." Wow. How observant, Gray thought sarcastically.

"Were you interested in maybe wearing one?"

"Not really. No." Gray liked a lot of the Jews he had met, but that didn't mean he was going to start putting discs on his head and strange boxes on his arms and forehead. It was great for them, and, you know, Jewish practice for the win. Hurray Team Jew and all, but he was a bystander, and perfectly happy to stay one.

Meanwhile a tall guy with scraggly black hair, an even more scraggly black and white beard and a smushed in fedora came rounding a corner. It looked like he had at one point had piercings in various places on his face. Gray could barely hold back his laughter. It was Gajeel. Only he was middle aged and obviously Jewish.

"Mendy, what are you doing?" He was obviously annoyed, but trying to keep a veneer of patience for what must be his son.

"I'm introducing this man to the wonderful commandment of covering your head."

"Great, but did you ask him if he was Jewish?"

"Oh. Whoops." Mendy turned back to Gray. "Um, so, excuse me, sir, but are you Jewish?"

Don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh. "No. I'm not. I'm staying with a Jewish family right now, but I'm not Jewish." Gray smiled.

"Hey. I'm Gavreel Levy. Sorry about my son. He's kind of over excited. Which family are you staying with? You kind of look familiar actually."

"I'm staying with the Silversteins. Joseph and Ora?"

"Oh yeah. Dr. Silverstein is my kids' doctor.. Oh, and you look a lot like his son, I forget his name. Oh yeah. Gray, wasn't it?" Unfortunately, Graeme had shown up at the moment to hear the mistake. He was carrying a shopping bag and he went up to the bearded man.

"Hey. Rabbi Levy. How's things? I see you've met my parent's house guest, Gray Fallbuster." Okay. That was a definite smirk. He was doing this on purpose. Was he five years old?

"Oh. You both have the same names?" Rabbi Levy seemed a bit confused and look back and forth between the two of them. Why couldn't anybody handle a simple introduction?

"Hi. I'm Gray Fullbuster and this is Graeme Silverstein."

"Sorry. I usually am pretty good with names. It's my business, because I work at Brooklyn College and meet hundreds of kids every year." He kept looking back and forth between the two men. "It's insane. You know you look practically identical?"

Graeme looked annoyed. "Yeah. We know all about it. Anyway. It's nice seeing you. We better get back. Gray, I bought the book already, so let's go."

"Yeah, my wife is going to kill us if we don't get back soon, too. Nice seeing you Graeme." He handed him a flyer from a large envelope he had with him. The next thing he said was hard to understand. One sentence sounded like complete gibberish, then he continued. "It's an event if you're interested this Shabbos. No pressure. Promise not to loobavinate you." He turned to Gray. "Nice ta meetcha, Gray."

Rabbi Levy put a hand around Mendy's shoulder. "Let's go Mendy. You were doing great. Just remember to ask them if they're Jewish first, okay?"

Mendy looked up at his father and smiled.

Graeme looked it and folded it in his pocket and laughed. "Such a character. That is so funny. Loobavinate me. Like I'd ever be loobavinated. I mean they're nice and all, but that is so not me." Loobavinated? What does that even mean? "Hey, it's free drinks and the singing's kind of nice. Maybe I'll go, actually. You should go, Gray. For the cultural experience."

"Loobavinate?" If Gray was hoping Graeme would educate him he was in for a rude surprise.

"Whatever. We are seriously late."

At least the rain had stopped by the time they had returned. Ora was setting up multiple candlesticks on a metal tray which was on top of a long low china cabinet in their living room. It looked so peaceful, but Graeme had a fit.

"Oh crap. Is it almost Shabbos? I still haven't had my shower and I bet all the hot water has been used up!"

"Graeme. Language. Please. And you've still got one hour until Shabbos. You have plenty of time, and I'm sure there's enough hot water for you as well."

"Yes, Gavreel Noach. Listen to Aunt Orah."

"What do you want Leon? And I don't go by my Hebrew name. You know that."

"And I use my Hebrew name, which I'm fairly sure you were well aware of."

"Oh, is _that_ what this is all about?" Graeme glared at Yehuda.

"Well, it would be nice if you called me by my requested name." For once, Yehuda reminded Gray of Lyon. That same self satisfied 'oh I'm so much better than you' tone. If Graeme wasn't such a jerk, he might have been starting to feel sorry for him.

"Okay, fine. Just can it with the Gavreel Noach business."

Ora finished setting up the candles and seemed to realize who was in the room. "Oh. This is great. I wanted to speak to all three of you. So, Graeme, you were very nice to share your room, but it sounds like you need more space. I do have a spare room in the basement. Yehuda suggested that maybe you'd like to stay there, Gray. I think it's a great idea. Also it has its own entrance which will give you more privacy. Yehuda is also in the basement, well he is until January 7th." She smiled.

This must be the plan Yehuda had mentioned earlier. "Thanks, um. Ora. Can I pay rent though? You and your family has been very generous, and I really appreciate it, but I don't think it's right to take so much, especially now that I have a job."

"Of course. I'll speak to my husband about an appropriate amount." She looked at her watch. "I probably won't have time to speak to him until Saturday night. We try not to talk about business on Shabbos, but I'll have an answer by Sunday morning. Sounds good?"

"Of course." Why did she always make it sound like he was doing her a favor? How did she keep doing that?

"In the meantime, Yehuda, do you have time before going to shul to help get Gray settled in the basement?"

Yehuda did, or at least he said he did. There wasn't much to do. He only had the clothing the Silversteins had so far leant him, aside from the one outfit he had been wearing when he got there. That and his knapsack and he was good to go. Ora found him a set of keys for the front door and the side door. So at least he didn't have to worry as much about waking up most of the house when he came back late on work nights.

There wasn't much need for his help. He had given Ora Julia's bottle of wine. There had been a huge scream at some point from two girls. Wendy's friend must have shown up. That's something that would never change no matter what universe you lived: the high pitch scream of excited prepubescent girls.

Yehuda had spent a bit with him before he went to fetch his bride, Devorah. Hes was back to being patient and acting about as un-Lyon as humanly possible. Yehuda had talked about how this Shabbos was an important one for Graeme. It was the anniversary of his mother's death, and in the Jewish world that meant a lot of obligations. A special candle to light. Ideally leading religious services which they went to three times a day. Giving extra money to charities in their memories. Gray liked the idea of giving money in somebody's memory. Maybe he could do something good for his parents and for Ur on their days. At the same time, it sounded like a communally imposed pressure, he was glad he didn't have to do. These days were best spent alone, walking around or finding a quiet place to brood.

It wasn't his problem, and these obligations were part of their lifestyle.

As everyone finished their preparations there was a feeling of expectancy in the air. Every week these people did this? Gray couldn't imagine it.

 **Not really sure how Gray would use his ice make magic to make Shabbos unless he's making ice cubes, but I think it's a fun title anyway.**

 **So Gajeel is Rabbi Gavreel Levy because: a. Gavreel sounds like Gajeel b. Levy. Seriously. Levy McGarden's first name is probably one of the top 5 most common Jewish surnames ever. c. Seriously Gajeel as a rabbi just makes me laugh. I can see it though.**

 **Loobavinate is a term I made up which means to try to get someone to become a Lubavitcher.**

 **As far as I know the Chabad (Lubavitch) Rabbi of Brooklyn College is not Gajeel's counterpart. He could have a son named Mendy, as it's one of the most common names in Chabad Lubavitch, but I do not know anything about him. Since I can't do links I'll just point you to www chabad org or check out the wikipedia entry for chabad if interested.**

 **Disclaimer: Everything about Chabad (Lubavitch) is written without the least intention to denigrate this wonderful organization with very dedicated rabbis. This goes for any other organization or sub group I might end up writing about in the Jewish world.**

 **At some point while writing this I realized Gray has two things observant Jews wouldn't ever have: a tattoo, and a necklace which looks like a cross. So I brought this out in the plot.**


	8. Chapter 8 It's Time to Say Good Shabbos

**Chapter 8: It's Time to Say Good Shabbos**

Days in the Jewish calendar started at sundown, which was at first confusing. So when it started getting dark, Ora had lit special candles, and Graeme had lit his remembrance candle for his mother, the men had gone to some place called shul, which was presumably where they prayed. Gray stayed behind figuring this was going to be way beyond him. He couldn't help watching how Silver and his son interacted.

"Graeme, remember, you're davening for the amuhd today. It's all arranged." This must have to do with leading services.

"Okay, okay. I get it."

"I don't need to remind you, how much of an honor this is for your mother."

"I know this, Dad. It's just that I've always been the youngest guy there who does this."

"You're not the youngest anymore. Unfortunately."

While they were gone, he ended up playing Uno with Dina, multiple times, and listening to Wendy and Shuli singing loudly with their lovely high pitched voices.

"It's time to say good Shabbos because all the dishes are done!"

'Shuli, that's not how it goes."

"That's how _my_ father sings it."

"That's funny, because in our house there's way more dirty dishes on Shabbos than any other day of the week. Ora sounded amused.

"Our house too." Wendy had told Gray earlier how Shuli was fourth out of seventh in a household that was mostly comprised of lively loud boys.

"Shuli lets practice the song we're supposed to sing, 'kay?"

"Won't you please let me sing in the choir!" Gray wasn't so sure what the song was supposed to sound like, but hopefully not like _that_.

"Shuli. We're not singing that song. Anyway, it's a weird song. It's a soloist singing how they're not a soloist. How does that even make sense?"

So the song is something about being forever one. Gray knew it's about religion and their creator, but the first thing he could see in his head was Master Makarov making the "one" sign with his pointer finger. 'Forever One we will go far.' Isn't that the message of his guild? Crap, when he was getting back home anyway?

Amazingly, the girls didn't seem to butcher this one. Not that he would really know. He'd never heard the song. Oh wait. This was the song Graeme had been singing when he was mimicking Wendy the first night he got here. He'd actually done a realistic job, Gray couldn't help noticing. This guy clearly had been subjected to his sister's singing often.

Devorah was in the kitchen with Ora and Julia. They were all gushing about how exciting it was for Devorah and Lyon moving to Israel and her future apartment, and going on and on with other boring women's talk. Devorah didn't look anyone Gray knew from Earthland.

Eventually, the men returned. Graeme was looking really annoyed. Gray couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. If anyone knew what it was like to be an orphan it was him. It would probably be short lived, once he opened his mouth though. Everyone went to the table.

First there was a whole discussion about Graeme saying the blessing of wine or not.

"Look Dad. I went to shul. I'm leading services the entire freaking day. I've got a migraine. Can I just hear your kiddush already?"

"Fine, Graeme."

Kiddush involved standing quiet, and listening to words which definitely meant something to somebody. Then there was more washing for bread and the rest of the meal was fairly regular, if somewhat tense. He noticed Julia looking wistfully in Graeme's direction. Graeme seemed completely oblivious.

Wendy and Shuli read a prepared speech about something called the Torah portion of the week, which was about some guy named Yakov having to do three things for his brother who hated him. Yeah. Like Lyon. What was he always saying when had the unfortunate luck to see him? _"I've always felt like I was your older brother."_ Yeah, right. Like an older patronising brother who always wants everything his way. Jerk.

Silver started speaking about Graeme's mother, while Graeme was visibly squirming and moving his food around his plate. The food had been delicious too. He wished he could buy the puddings (or kuhgels as they called them) in Magnolia. How did they get the potato one to get crispy on the outside yet soft inside and full of salty deliciousness. He wasn't so sure about this gefiltered fish stuff though. Fish should look like fish, not like a fish version of sausage, but the chicken was delicious, and the salads fresh. Even the wine Julia had brought tasted nice.

Silver was talking in that way people do when someone's been gone a long time. Michal Silverstein had loved her family more than anything. She was always giving back to her community and volunteering to help out. She'd been an only child of survivors. Survivors of what, Gray couldn't help wondering. Silver had also referred to himself as a child of survivors.

Gray wondered if this day was awkward for Ora, but she seemed okay with it being all about her husband's first wife. Wendy and Dina were referring to her as Aunt Michal. Julia seemed to be trying to get on Graeme's good side by asking questions about her and saying how she would have loved to have met her, but he was either ignoring her or in his own world.

Graeme had been asked if he wanted to speak about her, and he hadn't answered so happily.

"I never knew her okay. What am I supposed to say? I'm grateful she gave birth to me. I'm not grateful she died. Maybe she should have been the one to have lived. This world would have been a lot better. Whatever. Can we finish already? I need to get out."

There was a brief uncomfortable silence only broken by Dina going to Graeme hugging him, and loudly declaring her love for her best brother ever, which got maybe the faintest crack of a smile out of him.

Pamphlets were passed out, and the men sang from them. Yehuda had given Gray a copy which had English. The songs were mainly about the delights of Shabbos. It would have been nicer if there hadn't been so much tension in the air. Then there was more blessings for after the meal. Although Graeme sped out of the room pretty quickly, and Wendy and Shuli had already left earlier, nobody else was in much of a hurry.

Not really knowing why, Gray eventually took off also. It was a little stuffy with the heat on, and he had this feeling Graeme would go to Ocean Parkway, a bench and tree lined busy street, only a few blocks up from where they were. He probably wouldn't bump into him, but for some reason he wanted to, probably because he was a glutton for punishment. No. There was something the way the night had gone that had made him feel for him. He couldn't place it, maybe it was the tension, or this pressure Graeme seemed to exude to have to live up to his mother's memory; to perform the part of the good son.

Without really concentrating, somehow he walked right by him. He was hunched over on one of the benches watching the foot and car traffic go by. Yes. Gray was definitely in the mood of punishment, he thought to himself as he sat down.

"Yehuda, I want to be alone. Go back to Devorah. Oh. You. What do _you_ want?"

"Nothing. I don't know. I just thought. Maybe you might want to talk. You seemed frustrated."

"Yeah. And now that you're here my mood's going to improve?" Oh man, did this guy make it hard to be nice.

"Look. Talk. Don't talk. Either is fine with me. I wanted to get out anyway. The food is good, but maybe a little heavy."

"What did you think of the gefilta fish?"

"That's what it's called? It was uh… interesting."

"It's okay. You don't have to like it."

They sat in silence for awhile, and then Graeme suddenly started talking.

"Being an orphan sucks, and being a Jewish orphan sucks worse, and then being a male Jewish orphan sucks rocks even more. I've been having to lead services ever since I was 13. Then on holidays there's another prayer we have to say. Everyone with parents goes outside and my father always left because his parents were alive, and I've been stuck there with all the middle aged guys since I was a toddler even, and everyone would be staring at me and going 'oh look at that poor orphan' and just crap like that. I used to wish my father would stay with me, but then my aunt Leah said so you want your grandparents to die, because, yeah, I'm that type of jerk aren't I. That's not what I meant. Whatever.

"Then every year I have to come up with something to say about my mother who I never knew. The only reason she's dead is because of me. She could have aborted the pregnancy,then maybe she could have gotten treatment earlier, and maybe she'd be here being the perfect wife instead of me being the only son of a disappointed father. Instead she's dead, and I'm messed up. I could be like Leon or Yehuda or whatever he wants to be called. He does everything right. He even is better at being an orphan. He doesn't complain about all this crap. He went into ice hockey, unlike me, which my father of course appreciates a lot more than ice skating, and unlike me, he went to Israel and became Super Frum. Me, I'm the screw up who can't even honor his mother's memory without causing a scene."

More silence. Gray couldn't really think of a response and Graeme didn't really need one. He had been right though. He had needed to vent to somebody. Somebody who wasn't part of his family, even if it was someone who drove him nuts. It was oddly peaceful sitting in the semi darkness. Around ten minutes later, another person walked by and sat down on the other side of Graeme. Nati.

"Hey, Graeme. Having a party without me?" This was obviously a favored spot for Graeme.

"A pity party. You know."

"Yeah, man. I know. Silver said you'd probably be here." Nati's response was soft and understanding. He'd clearly been down this road before.

"Yeah, and he asked you to bring back his wayward son."

"Oh please. Wayward son." the two had an easy familiarity. Nati seemed to relax Graeme, while, unfortunately, Silver seemed to set him on edge.

Nati noticed Gray. "Oh hey, Gray. What do you think of Shabbos?"

"It's relaxing."

"Yeah. You'll need it because tomorrow night is crazy busy at Kosher Health Garden."

"That's what I'm hearing." Nati turned his attention back to Graeme.

"Rabbi Gav's having this farbrengen thing tonight. Want to drop in? Free beer."

"Oh yeah. We saw him at Eichler's this afternoon.. His son was trying to get Gray to buy a kippah."

"Mendy? I think he has an innate capacity for finding non Jews when he's trying to bring Jews closer to God. He really means so well too."

"Yeah, right? Rav Gav told me he wouldn't try to turn me into a Lubavitcher. His exact words were 'I won't try to lubavinate you.'"

"He is so funny. He's too cool to be a Rabbi."

"That's probably because he's ex military and he used to be in a biker gang. I mean only Lubavitch has rabbis who were bikers. And his wife looks so refined and polite, which makes you wonder how they ever got together."

"Well, opposites attract. Take you and Julia."

"Please don't. There is no 'me and Julia'."

"Yeah, that's what you say now, but in ten years you'll be married to her with four kids and living somewhere suburban like Teaneck complete with a minivan and gray hair from paying yeshiva tuition."

"Oh please."

"Or the man of your dreams can sweep you off your feet." Nati fluttered his eye lashes and pretended to act flirtatious. It was pretty obvious by now that his interactions with Graeme were more for fun than anything real.

"I think I'll take Julia first."

"You are so harsh!"

"Yeah, well, you need to be looking for the man of your dreams at some other address."

All this was said in an easy jokey manner.

"Seriously. Do you ever even try and find somebody instead of pretending to flirt with me?"

"Hey. Just having fun. I'm working on it, and you should talk, when you've got literally the perfect girl just waiting for you."

"Whatever. Let's go to this farbrengen. I need a drink."

It was interesting watching the back and forth between the two. They definitely interacted differently than he and Natsu did, that's for sure, but the more he saw Nati the more he seemed more like Loki. The only thing Nati had that was anything like Natsu's was his impulsivity and his ear to ear smile.

The event with the really odd sounding name, Farbrengen, was full of happy people singing songs with lyrics that were more like sounds than words, but they sang them with major intensity. Then Rabbi Gavreel spoke about this event where a very holy man had been imprisoned unfairly. Gray couldn't quite figure out why he was imprisoned, or why this was the new year for learning the hidden parts of their holy books. Gray wondered if it was hidden how anyone was able to learn it, but sat back and enjoyed the singing, which was a lot easier once he had also enjoyed a beer.

The Rabbi was just as horrible a singer as Gajeel was, but that didn't stop him from singing loudly. At one point he was playing air guitar and Gray half expected him to start singing 'shoo bee doo bah,' but he only launched into another song.

At one point Graeme had gone to use the bathroom, and Natihad spoken to the rabbi, Gray guessed it had something to do with Graeme and his mother, and sure enough, shortly after Graeme returned the abbi spoke on the topic of loved ones who had passed away, had managed to say something sensitive, without it being obvious that it was geared towards anyone in particular, while tying iit into the rest of what he had been saying before. It was something about how every good deed done here connects to loved ones and is a merit for them. Gray wondered if that applied to him. At any rate, it seemed to be effecting Graeme positively, or maybe it was the beer.

"How did you like it, Gray?" Nati was asking as they walked back.

"It was interesting. I mean I didn't quite follow most of it, but it was nice."

The air was cold and fresh, exactly how he liked it. While he was taking off his light jacket and wrapping it around his waist, he couldn't help smirking while watching Nati make brr noises and sticking his hands in his pockets. Graeme wasn't really wearing a warm jacket either.

"He's really a welcoming guy, although he's kind of gruff at first. What's wrong with you guys, though? It's freezing out and you're barely wearing a thin jacket" he pointed to Graeme, "and you're not even wearing a coat, Gray."

"You know I don't get cold so much. I mean all those years in ice skating rinks, and we always go to the country for a week every winter, and the ice sculpting. And it's not even below 0."

"You mean 32."

"Yeah, well excuse me for being Canadian. We use the proper scale for measuring temperature."

"Whatever. You're hardly Canadian."

"I am so Canadian. What makes more sense for a freezing temperature? 0 or 32? Now answer, I see." He smirked. Gray wasn't quite following this but didn't really care.

"Whatever. Enjoy the rest of the night ice boys. See ya tomorrow." Gray usually couldn't stand being called ice boy, so why was he not annoyed when Nati did it? This guy just knew how to get away with saying things others couldn't.

They continued walking and for the first time he didn't feel so awkward around Graeme.

"Thanks for listening to me vent earlier. I'm just curious. Why do you have your stripping habit?"

"When I was a kid I used to train in the snow in my underpants. Yeah okay. That sounds weird. It was supposed to get us desensitized to the snow and help us develop our magical power."

"Sounds more perverted than anything else." Graeme smirked, but not in a mean way, in a teasing, but friendly manner for a change.

" Master Ur was your step mother's counterpart. She was no pervert. Actually they're both very similar. Personality wise."

"Wait. Your teacher was like my step mother? You never said this before."

"I thought I had. It's been a crazy 5 days though. Yeah."

"She's in your guild?"

"No. She's not alive. She died saving me from the same creature that killed my parents when I was around 11."

"Woah. Okay. Wow. I didn't know your parents were dead. You're even more in the same boat than I am. Wait. Creature? What do you mean by creature?"

"It's hard to explain. You don't have these creatures here. He was created by a wizard and just left to roam and destroy. I lived in a small village, and he destroyed everything and everyone in my village but me.

"Then Master Or and another student of her named Lyon found me."

"That's insane. I mean it's horrible, but also a miracle that you survived. And Lyon? Please don't tell me he's like Leon."

"Well I won't if you don't want me to, but it's him. Their personalities are very different though. Lyon is arrogant, patronising and never lets me forget he's older and smarter than I am."

"Heh. Sounds about the same to me."

"Could be Leon is nicer to me because he doesn't know me, but your version seems ten times better than mine. Maybe we can do a trade."

"I wish. Leon is like the son my father should have had, and he never stops reminding me of it. So Lyon's not related to you?"

"I hope not. That would be even worse. He tries to think of himself as my older brother."

"Oh got it. 'I'm your older brother so you'll do things my way?'"

"Wow. It's like you've met the guy."

"So your father-"

"Yeah?"

"He looks like my father, doesn't he."

"Well… yeah."

" I should have seen this sooner. No wonder you were so pissed off. No wonder you wanted to bash my face in."

"You were right though. It's not my business. You're both different people."

"Shit, that would freak me out though. I mean I can't imagine going to a different world and there's my mother except she's somebody else's mother, and her son looks exactly like me, and she's alive and well. And I've been a total asshole to you too." Well, yeah, but we don't have to dwell on that part. "It's just.. It's just been weird being around someone who looks and sounds exactly like me, but who's completely different."

"We're not completely different."

"Yeah, I guess."

They continued walking until they were by the house.

"Thanks again for listening. My father and I… it's not so simple. Whatever. Thanks."

And as he lay in bed in his basement, Gray thought if he had to be stuck away from home and away from Juvia, it could be a lot worse than it was.


	9. Chapter 9 Separation

Chapter 9 Separation

The rest of Shabbos went by quickly. Of course, sleeping in until 10:30 helped. The male members had already left to pray, and Ora was busy trying to convince the girls to get dressed and go to their prayer hall also.

The official meal wasn't for another hour and a half. Just enough time to run to the track and exercise off that chicken, kuhgel, and those brownies Wendy had made. Oh, and the beer. Don't forget the beer and those dry cookies called kiklak. Only it was pronounced with that weird guttural sound that was in so many words they said, which made it sound like they were about to clear their throats. Nati had told him the kiklak were staples at gatherings like the one they had been to last night. That, and this odd-looking fish called herring, which he had skipped, because it looked even less appetizing than the fish sausage had.

People kept looking at him when he was on the way to the track. He didn't get it. It's like they never saw men dressed in tee shirts and shorts before. He really needed a shirt that said in large block letters "I AM NOT GRAEME SILVERSTEIN. Of course, that would only help if he kept his shirt on, and this neighborhood was large. Many people didn't even know the Silversteins, so why was being looked at so oddly?

Just when he was a block away from the track, someone stopped him. He looked about the same age as he, and was dressed in what some of the men in this community seemed to wear: a suit jacket white shirt and pants plus a black hat.

"Graeme wait up." _Oh great. Yet another person who thinks I'm Graeme._

"Hi. Nice to meet you. My name's Gray."

"Oh, you've gone back to using that nickname. Fine with me. _Gray_." Not quite.

"No, you're not understanding. I'm not Graeme at all. Here." Okay, so it looked a bit weird picking up his tee shirt, but it would be the quickest way to clear things up.

"What are you doing?" Great. This was bombing, and Graeme was going to get a weird phone call later and get pissed off again, right when things were getting better between them.

"It's not what you think." What could he be thinking? "Look. Graeme doesn't have this." He pointed to his emblem. "I hope that's proof that I'm not him. I'm staying in their basement. He's a great guy. He's in shul right now. You know. Praying." He had this Jewish terminology down. Well, aside from that crazy clear the throat sound he would never ever be able to pronounce.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Wow. Has anyone said how much you look like each other?" Only everyone he'd met so far who knew the Silversteins.

"It's okay. He definitely wouldn't go running on his mother's your tzite." By the way the guy was looking at Gray strangely, he was pretty sure he had pronounced that correctly. Gray smirked to himself. He was getting good at freaking out the neighbors.

After an invigorating work out, and another disappointing check into whether his ice magic had come back (it hadn't), he ran back, took a shower and changed back into Shabbos attire.

The meal was pretty much the same as the night before but instead of soup there was chuhlent, a stew that had been sitting cooking since Friday afternoon. It had chicken, potatoes, barley and other grains in it. One of the Shabbos rules was no cooking, so this was the biggest way to have hot food for the daytime meal.

Nati had showed up for the meal, and a lot of Graeme's tension seemed to have dissipated. He even said spoke at the meal about his mother and what she meant to him. Julia wasn't there, and neither was Yehuda who was at his bride's family for the meal.

Then Graeme and Nati had left to visit a friend. Gray mainly watched Wendy and Shuli play games with Dina. At some point Wendy tried to hint to Dina that they wanted to be alone, and Ora took Dina to the park.

It was a bit awkward trying to make conversation with Dr. Silverstein. Nobody had told him anything about Gray's father looking the same as him, and he preferred it that way. This version was very serious, although he seemed to have a sense of humor. Gray could see though how he and Graeme didn't really see eye to eye.

It was hard not to keep on wondering if he had grown up with his father, if there would have been a similar conflict or not. The short experience he had had with his father when they were fighting Tartaros hadn't really told him much, and it wasn't exactly normal interaction, given has father had wanted to die, and was willing to do anything to make it happen. He wasn't going to hold a grudge, and he didn't feel like going back there. And to think, he had been at the games and seen him. Crap. all those years they were both alive (well his father was alive in looser terms, but still). He imagined taking all these memories and putting them in a large envelope and placing it in a desk drawer. Not for now.

Ora was a lot easier to talk to than her husband. She was down to earth and friendly to everyone, although she had a tough side to her, just like Ur had, and she seemed really interested in his life on Earthland. If she thought he was completely nuts, she didn't show it.

Soon Shabbos was over, and everyone had gathered for a ceremony that symbolized the end of Shabbos and the beginning of the rest of the week. It was interesting. There was a candle, wine, and some nice smelling spices which everyone took turns smelling.

And then it was time to rush to work at was going to be the craziest day of the week.

And crap was it busy. The nice thing is he had less time to take off his shirt by accident.

There were so many people who, after having had multiple big meals over Shabbos, desperately needed dairy foods like they had been starving for two days. Okay, that was hardly a charitable description, and it didn't really fit a lot of the customers who were polite, but some of the other customers were… interesting. Sort of like how the fish had been interesting.

"Sir, I asked for a quarter teaspoon of sugar in my coffee. I think they put in more. It tastes way more sweet than normal." _Okay. This is why you should be putting the sugar in your own damn coffee, rather than asking us._

"Of course. I'll bring you another coffee, and I'll give you some sugar packets, so you can put in exactly how much you want." _You complete idiot._

"Sir, I asked for egg whites, and these definitely have egg yolks in them. See the yellow?" Except this guy had asked for two eggs and one egg white. _Make up your freaking mind._

Also, there was a waitress he hadn't met before working who had an annoying high-pitched voice. She enjoyed yelling out the orders in what she probably thought was a sweet tone, but which drove Gray absolutely nuts. For some reason hearing her say 'baked ziti' was the worst, and a lot of her customers seemed to be ordering that. It was a conspiracy.

Almost near the end of the night he heard giggling from a woman who was pointing at him, which seemed somewhat out of a place in this type of restaurant. Was she drunk?

"Nice pectorals, waiter!" Yes. This woman was drunk, and acting weird, and was kindly asked to leave by Aliza. He had made it to almost the entire night too without stripping.

The one good thing with more customers was more tips at least.

After what seemed like forever, the restaurant was closed, and they were trying to do the clean up as quickly as possible. The stereo from the back was put on full blast, and no way, what was up with this song? It was Cana. It had to have been her. Who sings a song about being too sexy for their shirt? It's like this singer had come up with it just to torture Gray.

"Cana! This is not funny!"

"It wasn't me, I promise, but does it really hurt being too sexy for your shirt?"

"No, it doesn't! Wait, I'm not too sexy for my shirt. I mean… argh!" Why had he even bothered answering her?

It hadn't been Cana though. The culprit was Axel. Who know that the quiet chef who had barely said a word to him before now could be so devious. He was grinning and chuckling as he put away the food and cleaned the dishes.

The songs didn't improve either. It was a good incentive for finishing up as quickly as possible. The next song was worse. Much worse. Gray couldn't stop blushing. He didn't understand this world. Nobody sang anything like this on Earthland. And what had the singer just sung? I want to -no way he did not just say that. He wants to _what_ like an animal? He would just ignore it and concentrate on what had to be done. Tables cleaned. Chairs put up. Where was Aliza? She had headphones on, was listening to her own music, and was oblivious.

The next song was tamer but still. The singer was singing about how every time she thought of somebody she touched herself, and it was obvious she didn't mean her nose. The too sexy song was looking pretty good by this point.

"Like the songs?" Axel, who had a very self-satisfied smile on his face. That was probably the first time he had said anything to Gray.

"Is every day going to be laugh at Gray and his stripping habit?"

"Sorry, dude. Couldn't help myself." Funny, but Axel didn't look so sorry. Oh, and now that too sexy song was back on, which meant that _other_ song would be next. They'd better be out the door by then.

"Well maybe we need to find a song about a silent chef with a crude music collection."

"Go for it, dude." Axel didn't seem concerned, and was he going to say dude in every sentence? What was a dude, anyway?

"You like the word dude a lot."

"It's because I'm from California, _dude_." Okay, well that cleared up precisely nothing.

"Oh? Where's California?"

"Dude, you need to look at a map. It's on the opposite side of the country, and it's normal to be cool and chilled there. and there's tons of beaches, which is great for shirtless guys like you. I bet nobody there would think it's weird if you took your shirt off. Maybe you should move there?"

Axel was from some place called Santa Cruz, which had mountains, beaches, and gorgeous girls. He had ended up in Brooklyn to further his musical career, which didn't quite explain why he was a chef at a kosher restaurant. Maybe he was talented the way Gajeel was.

'You should go there. None of this snow and cold. No blizzards of 1996 either." One of the biggest blizzards in recent history had happened last January, and Gray kept hearing people refer to it in comparison to this current season.

"They have no snow there at all?" No snow at all? The entire year? California had major problems.

"Well there's some places in the north where people travel to ski and stuff, but most people don't have snow there, no." It sounded like Akane beach. A great place to visit, but that's about it.

Then as Aliza was locking up, Cana had surreptitiously handed him a brochure.

"I thought maybe this might be a lucrative career choice for you." She was laughing, which didn't bode well.

Gray read the brochure, turning even more red as he read it. "Interested in a career which uses your best assets? Become a male stripper and make dreams come true while earning up to $1000 a night!" Was it possible that this Cana was even more outrageous than the one in Earthland?

"Okay. No. Just no, Cana. How did you even get this?"

Now Aliza was trying to find out what it was. Great.

"A friend of mine who's in the business gave it to me. He said you want the clubs catering for men because tips are a lot better. He can totally get you an interview here."

Meanwhile Gray had found a trash can and thrown it out, but not before Aliza had gotten a peek. She was now saying "oooh" in a voice that was supposed to sound funny, but just made Gray more annoyed.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not a stripper."

"That's so funny since you were taking off your shirt when you said that." Gray looked down and sure enough his buttons were more than half undone. Crap. Okay, well he'd just redo them.

"Okay, Gray. Where are we going tonight?"

"Nowhere, because last time you got drunk, and had no clue how to get us back." He'd be stupid to make the same mistake twice.

"Okay, we'll get drunk in your place."

"My hosts will really not appreciate that."

"Oh well. I know. You can dye my hair. How do you get yours that shade of black and blue?"

"It's natural. Do I really look like somebody who would dye their hair?" He had a lot of better things to do.

"Is it a normal thing for people where you're from to have blue hair?"

"Yeah, it's pretty common." And girls with light blue wavy hair were the most gorgeous. Especially the ones with loving eyes and curves in all the right places. Not that he should be thinking in that direction right now. It would just make him annoyed and frustrated.

"Wow. What's my hair color there?" Gray had told Cana about her counterpart and their almost frightening similarities.

"Brown." Cana didn't sound too thrilled by this.

"Oh. Is it at least spiky, like yours?" He wasn't sure why spiky was so great.

"No. it's more long and wavy."

"So, in other words, exactly how I have it?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Cana was annoyed. Maybe he should have lied and said she had spiky pink hair, like a female Natsu or something.

He didn't really care. Six days, and he was no closer to getting home then he was at the beginning. Who was he kidding? There was nothing he could do from his end. He was relying on his guild mates finding whoever had pushed him through the portal and finding a way to get him back. Natsu would have to be doing something. And what he lacked in brain cells he made up for in strength and resilience. The guy never gave up.

Not using magic wasn't quite like losing a limb, but it was close. How easy it had been when he was telling the Edolas Fairy Tail members that they didn't need magic. He had been such a hypocrite. It felt so wrong not being able to cast ice spells. It gave him an empty feeling without it.

But life without Juvia was worse. It wasn't just their physical relationship, although that was unbelievably good. It was also the emotional connection he never thought he'd want to have, but now couldn't imagine going without. He craved her, but he also needed her in a way he had never let himself want anyone. He missed her smile and that funny way she wrinkled her nose in her sleep. When had he started needing her to feel whole?

Whatever. He had gone through a lot worse than now. He wasn't going to let this get him down. A Fairy Tail wizard didn't quit. He never gave up, and he wasn't going to give up now either.

Maybe he had a mission to accomplish here? It sounded corny, and he had obviously spent way too much time last night at that farwhatsit. But one of the things this Rabbi Levy had said was that everybody living was here for a reason, which meant he was here for a reason. Maybe it was payback. Juvia waited patiently for him to wake up and realize she was meant for him. So maybe now he had to go through the pain of not being near him when he needed her. Sounded depressing.

No. There was something he was going to accomplish here, along with making sure customers had just the right amount of sugar in their coffee, and along with getting soaked in the rain, because at some point while he had started walking back to his temporary home, it had start pouring. It felt good. It felt like Juvia. Home.

 **The chapter title, Separation, refers to the ceremony performed at the end of Shabbat separating the holy day from the regular mundane week, as well the separation between Gray and Juvia.**

 **The songs Gray were being subjected to were:**

 **I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred**

 **Closer by Nine Inch Nails. I once was subjected to a song by a co-worker when we were closing up at a bookstore I worked out in the '90s that made this song sound maybe not tame, but not nearly as bad, and I was channeling that experience here with Gray.**

 **I Touch Myself by Divinyls**

 **The cookie he's referring to is either a kichel or in plural kichlach. The ch is hard to describe if you haven't heard it. It's in other words like challah. Not one but two Hebrew letters has this sound so it's in a fair number of words and names. If you really want to you can do a google search on pronunciation, because no links are allowed.**


	10. Chapter 10 A Song of Ice and Chainsaws

Chapter 10 A Song of Ice and Chainsaws

It was Sunday afternoon, and Graeme was having way too much fun with that chainsaw. He might be 21 but he looked more like an 11-year-old with a new toy. Not that Gray wasn't much different, especially with some of the tools he'd made himself out of ice.

Creating something with ice make magic was a whole different world than sculpting in

ice. Graeme had shown Gray a picture of himself posing with last year's ice menorah for reference. The Graeme in the photo looked proud of himself, and as they got to work Gray could see why.

This was laborious. First, they needed to make a base. This had been Gray's job. A chainsaw and an ice block made a satisfying combination. It didn't quite fill the hole that his lack of ice magic caused, but it was the most enjoyable experience he'd had in Brooklyn. He had been a little nervous at first, because although carving the base was very straight forward, ice supplies were limited. Graeme had gone all the way to Queens to purchase the blocks of ice and had to rent a special truck to transport it. It had been a major endeavor, which he had made clear he didn't want to repeat.

Now they were using a chisel to start creating each branch of the menorah. So much labor for such a short-lived item, but Graeme clearly enjoyed the process, and Gray was finding it enjoyable too, once he let go of how long this was taken for something that could be done in a few seconds with ice make magic.

He was surprised at how good Graeme was at working in a team. He was patient with his instructions, and let Gray have a nice amount of lee way, even though Graeme was clearly the main sculptor and Gray the assistant. They worked mostly in silence, with Graeme sharing some tips and suggestions here and there.

The only thing Gray could use his magic for was to make some spinning tops called dreidels. They were small and pretty much useless. They looked cute though, and the kids would love them, which was the main point.

It took a good four hours to complete, and once they had stored the menorah and the dreidels and packed up the tools, they headed out. The brisk November air was perfect.

"You do this every year?" And all by himself?

"Yeah. Thanks for the help. I was behind this year. You have a good feel for it and you're good with the tools."

"Sure. Thanks for including me. It was fun. Especially using the chainsaw."

"Oh yeah. That used to be my favorite part." Used to be? It seemed to Gray like it still was.

"So, what are you using the menorah for?"

"It's purely for decoration. Because we need to light a menorah on the actual holiday, and I'm sure you know that candles, flames and ice don't mix well. It's for the big Chanukah party Rabbi Levy has every year. He tries to get people interested in the holiday. It's next Sunday night if you want to see it in action before it melts into nothingness."

"Speaking of flames, I'm flaming hot today, and you both are way too sexy, but don't worry, it won't be too much for me to handle." Nati seemed to have arrived out of nowhere, and now Gray was thinking of that ridiculous song about being too sexy for your shirt.

"Just ignore him, Gray."

"Yeah, I figured that was the best way to handle him."

"Oh please. You two are _cruel_."

"I have a new rule, Nati. Every time you waste those ridiculous pick-up lines on me, you need to give me an update on what you've done or planning on doing to find a real boyfriend. So, _noo_? What's the update?" Gray liked this word, noo. It was usually said with a very impatient inflection. As in "so?" but with ten times the impatience. Maybe this should be imported to Magnolia.

"I just spoke to you Shabbos!"

"Yeah, and you told me nothing. What have you done so far?"

"Says the guy who ignores-"

"Don't even-"

"the perfect girl-"

"You're totally changing the subject."

'And you're _totally_ interrupting me." Listening to these two was like watching a ping pong game.

"Do _I_ need to find a freaking boyfriend for you?" The eerie thing about watching Graeme sometimes was how his facial expressions were Gray's facial expressions. He hadn't realized how angry he could look sometimes.

"No. Julia-"

"I said don't change the subject!" Graeme seriously needed to chill out. Oh great. Gray really didn't want to remember how Lyon told him more than once how hot headed he was. Okay, so Graeme was more similar in ways he'd prefer not to think about.

"I'm not. Julia has a holiday party and she's inviting me, because there's some hot guy there she says would be perfect for me."

"Okay, fine. What else?"

"She needs a date, and I think you'd be perfect."

"I see what you're up to. Aren't you going to be her date?"

"No. I'm being fixed up with this guy. Oh, come on. It'll be great. You're perfect for each other."

"Whatever. When's this party?"

"Next Sunday."

"Can't come. I have to go to Rabbi Levy's Chanukah party."

"Oh yeah, I forgot, Ice Hunk."

"Okay. Next Question. Gray, your turn." Okay, this wasn't exactly his forte, but why not.

"No more questions. I'm done."

"Calling me ice hunk necessitates more questioning. I'm sure Gray has a great question for you." As much as Gray didn't appreciate being put on the spot, he was enjoying being on the same side as Graeme's.

"So, what is your plan for this date with this unknown guy?"

'I'm planning on dazzling him with my gorgeousness, my humor and my smile. Unless he's kind of slimy, and then I'll just be trying to get away from him."

"Well, good luck."

"Maybe you could go with Julia to the party, Gray."

"Yeah. You're off Sundays. Would you mind? You'd get her out of my hair and get to watch Nati make a fool of himself." He could just see Juvia finding out about this. She had toned down so much, but would she consider her own counterpart a love rival? Oh well. He'd have to deal with that. It's not like this was a real date or anything.

"It's fine with me, but does she really need a date?"

"I have no clue."

"She's coming over later to ask you, Graeme, so you'll find out."

"Oh, crap. Just what I need. I see her enough with this stupid competition we're training for, now she's coming over to ask me out on a date? Doesn't she get that she's wasting her time? It's weird."

"Oh, come on, Graeme. She's gorgeous, gentle and kind and she loves _you_. What more do you want?"

"You date her then."

"Uh, yeah. How long have you known me, Graeme?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I know. You're gay. You're not into girls, blah blah blah."

"And you say you are."

"Well, maybe cuz I am."

"So, show it by dating Julia."

"You know that I'm not dating yet, and that my father is going to be heavily involved in doing the research on girls for me." That was weird. There would have been no way Silver Fullbuster would have been involved in getting Gray dates. But in his world, people dated to get married, and the parents were involved a lot more, or at least that's how it seemed from what he'd heard offhand.

"And I know that you're ready."

"I need to get a career first."

"Excuses, excuses. I'll see you two later, hot icy hunks." He ran off before they could say anything.

"'Hot icy hunks?' isn't that contradictory?" It sounded like something Juvia would say.

"Yeah, but that's never stopped him."

When they had gotten back Graeme's grandmother had returned. Gray hadn't been so sure what to expect. Maybe a short old wise woman in a wheelchair. This woman wasn't like that at all, although she radiated an air of confidence, and seemed sharp. She was a few inches shorter than Graeme, and looked a lot like Silver, which meant that she looked like Gray too, which was a little unsettling. He had never known his grandparents, or any extended family at all. Would his paternal grandmother have looked like her?

"Graeme, your father told me, but I still can't believe it. Are you sure you didn't get cloned?"

"Hi, Bubby. This is Gray Fullbuster. He's staying in our basement."

"Hi, Mrs. Silverstein."

"You're so polite. You two look almost exactly alike. If it wasn't for the hair I'd get confused. Call me Lila. Nice to meet you." She shifted her focus to her grandson. "Graeme, you've been getting along with Yehuda?" Her accent was different than the others. Her first language was clearly not the same as the rest of her family.

"Yeah, well, sort of."

"Which means no."

"Bubby, you know what he's like."

"Yeah, I know, and I also know he's getting married in less than two months, and then he'll be out of your hair, so maybe just suck it up until then?" She switched her focus back to Gray. "Where are you from Gray? You have family in New York?" She didn't waste time.

"It's a little complicated. I don't have family really." Well outside of Fairy Tail, but he wasn't sure she'd get it. But she seemed to get it. Her face softened a little,

"Ah. Yehuda was telling me. I was the same way. So was my husband. We went from being two people to having 5 children and then we had grandchildren, and now great grandchildren. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be alright" What had Yehuda told his grandmother about her? And what did she mean that she was the same way as him? Why didn't it bother him the way she had talked to him in such an unnecessarily sympathetic manner? What had she been through that made her speak this way?

"Graeme, you were going to show me something from your routine."

"I want to, but can I take you to the rink tomorrow? It's kind of hard to demonstrate on a regular floor."

"Okay, that sounds good. What's going on with that nice girl you perform with? No pressure of course." Interesting. Graeme was blushing, which he never did when he spoke to Nati about Julia. Why was his behavior seeming more and more familiar from when Gray had tried to ignore Juvia's attentions while also trying to ignore that his feelings had started to change, until it had almost been too late?

They had washed their hands and went to the living room couches.

"You'll see her tomorrow Bubby. And are you sure there's no pressure?" Graeme was smiling.

"Well, do you want me to say the pressure's on?"

"Bubby, please."

"'Bubby, please.' Anyway, anything interesting happen while I've been away apart from you being cloned?"

"Nothing much. I'm practicing for a couple of competitions. I need to start applying to grad school for next year."

"Yeah. What area?"

"Business." The older Mrs. Silverstein got an annoyed look on her face. She seemed displeased.

"Business? Why?"

"Well, I'm great at math, and Aunt Leah's a project manager and getting a business degree would definitely look good and –"

"What do you want to do, Graeme?"

"I just said. Business."

"Really?"

"No. Not really, but what else is there?"

"What about something you'd like to do?"

"I don't know. I like ice skating and making ice sculptures, but I can't make a decent living with either."

"So, think about it. Don't make a decision right away, _zeeskite_." After rubbing her grandson's shoulder affectionately, she got up and headed to the kitchen.

"Thanks, Bubby." Gray didn't know what a zeeskite was, but he could see that Bubby Silverstein got away with saying things to Graeme nobody else could. Kind of like Nati, but different. Graeme clearly respected his grandmother and looked up to her.

Julia showed up and seemed a bit flustered to see Graeme and Gray together in the living room but calmed down when she saw Lila. Graeme looked instantly more annoyed. Maybe Gray had misread him earlier.

"Graeme, Hi. Hi Gray. I was wondering if maybe I could speak to you privately, Graeme?"

"It's okay, Julia. We saw Nati an hour ago. He told me about the party. I can't go, but if you really need a date why don't you ask Gray? He's off Sunday."

"I know it's normally not done, but I really just need someone to accompany me."

"I told you, Julia. I can't go. Rabbi Levy's Chanukah party is the same night, and I have to be there."

"Oh yes, of course. Your ice menorah! How could I forget. I wish I could see it. You're so talented." The way Juvia looked at Graeme was making Gray miss Juvia more. It was just how she looked at him that was pure Juvia. What was she doing right this moment? Maybe she was on a job with Gajeel and Lilly.

"Thanks. So, what do you think. Gray, you're okay with going, right, and it's okay with you, Julia?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm off work that night."

"Thank you. That's very kind." Julia looked like she was trying hard not to cry, when she left, after the arrangements were made.

Yehuda had shown up. Gray had a theory. Yehuda was a nice guy, and very sensitive in fact, but when it came to Graeme he switched into the same kind of patronizing jerk Gray knew so well from Lyon. It was like he couldn't help himself. But wasn't Lyon the same way? He was very polite and nice to other people, but somehow with Gray it all disappeared. There was always this tension between them, and he had to admit he also played a role. Was he ever happy to see Lyon? Not really. Lyon would have been very much aware of this too and reacted to it. Graeme was the same way. A few times the older cousin had started it by speaking to Graeme in a patronizing way, but most often it was Graeme starting it, and Yehuda reacting. Shit. Could it be so simple as that? Maybe if he just was friendlier with Lyon maybe, who knows, maybe their weird and messed up relationship might get better? Gray pushed all this aside.

"Graeme. Gray. How did the ice sculpting go?"

"Fine." Said with that familiar annoyed impatient voice Gray found so familiar. How often did Gray sound like that? More often than he'd like.

"The party's in a week, right? I can't wait to see it. I don't know how he does it, Gray, but he's quite talented with a chisel."

"Don't forget the chainsaw." Graeme smirked.

"Yeah. The chainsaw was amazing. I got to help a little, but Graeme is very talented and so careful in everything he did. It was impressive watching him work."

"I've only ever seen the end product, but it's very impressive. I hope you don't mind Gray, but I need to speak to Graeme alone. You don't have to leave. We'll go to the den."

As the two left Gray heard a very impatient "What do you want now, Yehuda?" from Graeme. He was happy to see them leave. Observing how Graeme interacted with people, especially Yehuda and Julia, was bringing him to too many uncomfortable places he preferred to leave well alone.

 **I watched some YouTube videos about ice sculpture as my very brief research for this chapter. There's a neat one about Okamato Studio in Astoria, Queens, which, had it existed in November 1996, probably would have been the place Graeme would have shopped for his ice.**

 **It's funny, but in my head, Lila Silverstein was at first an old infirm lady in a wheelchair, kind of the way Gray had imagined her in the story. Then I realized that she would be 72 years old, and her character ended up being very different. In keeping with the color theme, Lila means purple in Yiddish.**

 **Plot elements will start to come in more in the next two chapters. I'll be honest though. This is not the most plot driven story in the world.**


End file.
